Journey's End
by The Bard1
Summary: Flint faces the past as he teams up once again with Lady Jaye and others three years after GIJOE disbanded.
1. Reunion

"Damn...not again"  
  
Alison slowed her car down to a halt. Traffic was terrible in Manhattan at this time of day. What was she talking about? Traffic was ALWAYS terrible in this city. She had been warned to leave her car at home and book a flight when she decided to make the trip, but she just couldn't resist taking the new convertible out for a spin.  
  
"Spin...right...eight hours on the highway...and now this!"  
  
The appeal of her lovely silver Mercedes was beginning to loose its luster. Even the soft black leather seats were beginning to feel less comfortable.   
  
The jarring noise of the city was beginning to get to her after the long quiet hours on the rural highways, and a chill was creeping into the air. It was late September after all. She pressed a button to bring up the ragtop and close the windows.  
  
"Ah...German engineering..."  
  
She popped a CD into the console and turned up the volume. Bach's cello concertos always calmed her nerves. Well, that or a cigarette but she had promised Jordan she wouldn't start up again.   
  
"That's what you get for living with a medical resident."  
  
She could certainly use a smoke right now.   
  
It had been almost three years since she had left GIJOE. Two since the operation folded. She had gone on with her life and done quite well for herself. She had never had to struggle to make ends meet, her parents had left her quite a fortune in trust, but that never stopped her from working hard, from pursuing her dreams.  
  
She had bought a lovely home in a well to-do area of Montreal, gone back to school and was about to wrap up her doctorate. She was also having fun with her new hobby. Painting of all things...she who couldn't draw a stick figure to save her life had suddenly discovered her artistic side. She also kept in good shape...jogging, Tae-Bo, tennis...you name it. In fact, she had joined the woman's Rugby team at McGill this year and was doing quite well until she blew out her knee.  
  
Her life, her friends, her thesis, it all kept her busy. It became easy to forget those years in the army, those years with the Joes. With him.   
  
"Yeah...that's why it still hurts like bitch."  
  
The car behind her blared its horn, knocking her out of her reverie.  
  
"All right, all right...keep your shirt on."  
  
She had nearly collapsed when she picked up her phone messages three days ago. General Hawk's authoritative voice boomed through the receiver, launching her back to her past...leaving her reeling.  
  
"Lady Jaye. Your skills are needed once again. Meet me on the Intrepid in Manhattan. Friday. Noon."  
  
Lady Jaye.   
  
No one had called her that since the night she drove off the base one final time. It brought memories flooding back, some that she would rather forget.   
  
She wasn't obliged to answer the summons. She was no longer in the military. She wasn't even living in the US anymore. She could have just erased the message and continued on her merry way.   
  
She could have done just that, she reflected as the old aircraft carrier came into view. She could have but she didn't. She had been a Joe for too long. It wasn't something that ever left you. When Hawk called you came, come hell or high water. You owed it to him.  
  
Finally, an opening in the oncoming traffic appeared and she was able to turn into the lot next to the ship. It was empty save for a few cars. The naval museum, as the carrier now served, was closed for the season.   
  
She saw Hawk standing near a black Ford Explorer with Military plates. He looked older, somehow...but still the imposing figure he always was. There were others with him...all of whom she recognized immediately. Scarlet, Duke, Roadblock, Shipwreck, and Snake Eyes, all in civilian clothes, all milling about talking and greeting each other...old friends united after a long absence. She pulled up close to the group and tensed as she recognized the car parked next to hers. The classic red Porsche convertible, lovingly kept in pristine condition, could mean only one thing.  
  
She shut off the engine and looked up. Sure enough, there he was. She thanked the powers that be for giving her the foresight to opt for tinted glass, as no one could see the look that crossed her face. Did she actually expect him NOT to be here?   
  
He was dressed casually, but impeccable as always. Nice pair of jeans, black v-neck sweater over a white t-shirt. His hair was a bit longer, fuller...gone was the short army cut...and the beret as well is seemed. His body was still in perfect shape, his skin tanned...he looked as handsome as she remembered him. He turned to look directly at her car, frowning in concentration as he attempted to discern who was inside.   
  
He was wearing sunglasses so she couldn't see his eyes. Would they be as cold as they were when she last saw them the day she left the service?   
  
A wave of sadness and pain swept through her.  
  
"No. Stop it Allie! What's done is done. This is not the man you fell in love with so long ago. That man has not existed for a long time. Don't you dare fall into the same hole that took you so long to crawl out of."   
  
Lady Jaye took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and opened the door.   
  
  
************************************************************************  
  
Dashiel Faireborn stood quietly, leaning against Hawk's truck. He was happy to see everyone again...all content and doing well. Roadblock had driven up from Mississippi, leaving his restaurant in the hands of one of his novices, Shipwreck had flown in from the Caribbean where he had been enjoying 'retirement', if you could call stalking 'pirates' retirement. Duke had come over from St Louis earlier to help Hawk.   
  
"Hey Flint, don't look so serious man. The CIA turning you into a bad-ass super spy or what?"  
  
He hesitated briefly before turning, unused to hearing his old code name. Roadblock stood in front of him, grinning. He smiled back.  
  
"When was I not a bad-ass?"  
  
Roadblock laughed. Scarlet looked up at him and frowned, overhearing his remark. He ignored her.  
  
"So, what's the deal? Man...what have you been up to? Obviously not tied down with family or you wouldn't be here."  
  
He nodded. Hawk had selected only those Joes that were 'unattached', no wife and kids. He had told Flint on the phone that he wasn't about to break up any families in order to complete this mission. The exception, it seemed, were Scarlet and Snakes, who had come in from their mountain retreat, not even hesitating to answer the call of duty.   
  
Only six of them...seven if you include Hawk. He wondered what the others were up too. Hawk had not told him who he had called, and if any had declined. Privacy issues, although with his security clearance any information he needed on his old teammates was merely a phone call away.  
  
"Nope...work keeps me too busy for any kind of personal life, although there is this blonde..." Flint cut off before finishing his sentence, as a sleek Mercedes coupe rolled into the parking lot, coming to a halt next to his car.   
  
Shipwreck whistled, "Looks like one of us has done well for themselves."  
  
Flint stared at the car, trying to make out the occupant through the dark glass. The door swung open and out came someone who he thought...hoped...he would never see again. He kept his face expressionless as Scarlet ran and embraced her old friend and roommate. His emotions, however, were running the gamut inside his head.   
  
She looked fabulous. The short hair, the athletic build...and man...that smile. He felt an odd sensation and turned to see Hawk and Duke both watching him intently, gauging his reaction. He stared back, his face impassive, until they looked away. It irked him that they still remembered what had gone down, that they still did not entirely trust him to keep his head on straight, despite his hard won position with the CIA...  
  
He turned his attention back to the scene ahead of him.  
  
She was dressed in jeans and those LL Bean-type hiking shoes that were so popular these days. On top was a beige ribbed turtleneck with a nice black polarite fleece vest over top. It suited her.  
  
He was surprised at the little surge of jealousy that crept up on him as he watched Shipwreck wrap her in a huge embrace. He fought it down just in time, as the next thing he new she was standing in front of him, looking at him with her soft green eyes.  
  
The last time he had seen those eyes they had been filled with tears. It had been the only time he had ever seen her cry...and he had been the cause.   
  
"Flint..."  
  
"Jaye..." He nodded, not trusting his voice at the moment to say anything more. She looked away, smiling shyly. Uncomfortable.   
  
"What did you expect, Moron", he thought to himself, "You pulled quite a number on this one. Did you think she would just fall into your arms after all this time?"  
  
He opened his mouth to say something, anything, but was interrupted by Hawk...who was signaling them to follow him inside. He turned back to see that LJ had already left him and was making her way up to the ship with Roadblock at her side.  
  
He sighed and went to follow, turning to find Scarlet standing next to him.  
  
"You ok?"  
  
"Why wouldn't I be?" He replied. "It's been a long time, Red...We've all grown."  
  
He was getting angry. Maybe it had been a mistake to come. He hadn't talked to any of these people in a long time. All they remembered of him was that last year with the Joe team.  
  
Dash sighed. He was tired...tired of having to prove himself all the time. He deserved it, he knew...it was his own fault. It was the cross he had to bear.   
  
He just wished that he could see an end in sight.  
  
***********************************************************************  
  
"It is difficult..."  
  
Scarlet turned to her husband, wondering at what he was signing about.   
  
"Hmm?"  
  
"Finding you way back. He lost himself that day...that battle...he is coming back, but it is difficult."  
  
Scarlet indicated her understanding by taking her silent lover's hand in hers. Of all the people who would understand what Flint went through...was still going through...it was Snake Eyes.  
  
Neither of them had seen hide nor hair of the Warrant Officer since the team disbanded. She heard only tidbits here and there from Shipwreck, who saw him on occasion. "Its too bad he chose to do this on his own. He has so many friends..."  
  
"No, this was something he has to face on his own...he would have trampled anyone in his path before now."  
  
And he had. The one person who would have stood by him through it all...he had torn her apart.  
  
"It's been a long time...He seems much better. "  
  
"Yes. But the journey has not yet ended...there is still one more step he needs to take. It will be the hardest one yet..."  
  
"What is that?"  
  
He did not answer, just indicated that they should join the others. She followed, understanding the deep and personal nature of what Snake Eyes was trying to convey. He had made this journey himself...she had been there through the tail end of it.   
  
Jaye was unfortunate enough to be there in the beginning. She was glad that she left when she did...that she never knew to what depths the man she had loved had fallen.  
  
*********************************************************************  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	2. Confrontation

Alison sat back and sipped her wine, listening to another of Shipwreck's tall tales of life on the high seas. They had finished up the long meeting with Hawk and had all decided to go out for a late dinner.  
  
They had turned to Roadblock for suggestions, and he had pulled a hat trick. Not only did he pick a lovely restaurant...Trattoria D'el Arte across from Carnegie Hall...but had got them all in despite not having reservations for the busy Friday night. Apparently, the chef owed him a favor. Which meant dinner on the house!  
  
Truth be told, she hadn't really wanted to come. She had returned to her hotel room to shower and change and had collapsed on the bed in exhaustion. The drive, combined with the emotional trauma of seeing Flint again had drained her. In fact, had Scarlet not pushed her she probably would have declined.  
  
"Come on, Jaye...we have got to catch up! I haven't heard a peep from you in a long time. I was beginning to feel neglected."  
  
Red understood her qualms, but also knew that she was too strong a person to hide from anything. She was among friends, and deep down she knew it. In any case, they would all be working together quite closely for a while, she had better get used to being around him again.  
  
From what Hawk had told them, it seemed that the CIA had spotted the twins and Zartan during a regular surveillance run in some remote part of South America. According to the information Flint had been able to gather, they had met with the leader of one of the area's most powerful drug cartels...a man known simply as Culebra.  
  
"Snake" Jaye piped in immediately...her language skills still quite extraordinary, although this was a relatively easy translation.  
  
"Exactly..." this from Duke. "We have a feeling our old enemy is trying his hand at a new business venture"  
  
"Not to mention the fact that the weapons the CIA have been able to intercept before it reached the compound have all come from a familiar source...MARS" Hawk continued, as Flint dropped a package of what looked like flour onto the table. The mark on the package was unmistakable.  
  
A Cobra.  
  
"So they've given up on 'trying to take over the world' " Roadblock growled.   
  
Shipwreck frowned "It isn't like the Commander. Too low key. He likes the spotlight..."   
  
"Agreed." This from Flint, "Which is why we suspect there is more to this operation than meets the eye."  
  
They had been called in to investigate further and when appropriate, destroy the operation once and for all.  
  
Her salad had arrived. She laughed a genuine laugh as Roadblock brought up some old 'Joe' cafeteria stories from back in the beginning. Oh, those were good times. Some of the best of her life. Unconsciously, she turned to the man sitting at the other end of the table. The man she had shared those years with. The man who had shared her life, her bed and her heart.   
  
She caught him looking at her, and although he turned away quickly...she had time to notice the slight smile on his face. They had barely spoken two words since noon, although she couldn't help but notice how he kept looking at her when he thought her attention was elsewhere.   
  
He had changed and was dressed in a pair of black pants and a black turtleneck with a thick splash of charcoal gray across the front. The sunglasses were gone and she caught a glimpse of his eyes...they were soft and tinged with sadness. He sat quietly, engaged in a conversation with Duke, sipping on a Perrier. He had turned his wine glass around almost immediately after sitting down.   
  
So Shipwreck had been telling her the truth last year. Dash had sworn off alcohol. Not that he had ever been a huge drinker while she knew him. Not anymore than anyone else in the Joes...herself included. She remembered a couple of times after a night on leave when she had to go on early morning duty with a very VERY bad hangover.  
  
However, according to some not so subtle hints from Scarlet, Flint had gone over the edge after she had left. She had tried to sound non-chalant about it when she heard, but inside it killed her to hear it.  
  
In spite of a rocky start, it was a wonderful relationship. Sure, it had its moments. Flint had the ego the size of a Sherman tank and was quick to jealous sulks. In the case of the latter she had to admit she egged him on, especially that time with Gorky. She was just so annoyed with him for even thinking that she might be interested in the blond Red October operative. For pete's sake, she had been with Flint for so long at that point, she had fallen for him so hard, how could he even imagine she would be interested in someone else?  
  
She hadn't meant to fall in love with him. She eventually gave in to his overt pursuits, but she felt it would probably be a quick fling. What she had not expected was that the gruff, exasperating Warrant Officer had turned out to be one of the most gentle, intelligent, caring men she had ever met. As they began to spend more and more time together, he had shown her more and more of his 'private' persona. The quiet man behind the mighty soldier.  
  
"God...I loved him." She thought to herself as she took a bite of her meal. She had never felt so strongly about any man before...And after, for that matter. Sure she had 'been' with other men...but nothing long term. Nothing 'serious'. Her friends bugged her about it all the time...mid thirties and still a singleton...and she even started doubting her own sanity.  
  
Was she comparing everyone to him? Probably. But more likely she still hadn't recovered from the breakup. From the terrible events that lead up to it.   
  
She had tried to help him. She tried to understand...but he had pushed her away. The image of him the last time she saw him flashed through her mind.  
  
"If you are trying to appeal to my heart, don't bother. I don't feel anything for you. Nothing. You are just someone who kept my bed warm."  
  
"You are lying Flint...why are you doing this? What did I do..."Her voice began to break...she tried to regain control...she never cried. At least not in front of anyone, not even him.  
  
"Don't you have somewhere you have to be?" Flint gestured that she should leave his office.  
  
"If I leave now, I am not coming back..."  
  
Flint stopped and stared at her, eyes revealing nothing. "Good...you aren't cut out for this work anymore. I was going to team up with someone else soon anyways."  
  
Anger seized her then. How dare he say such a thing, after everything they had gone through together these past 6 years...all the battles with COBRA. She couldn't control herself, she took a swing....  
  
Which he caught easily and deftly twisted her arm until she submitted.   
  
"Bang...your dead." He said matter-of fact, "As I was saying...you aren't cut out for this anymore."  
  
He let go and she scrambled to the other side of the room...for the first time in her life afraid of the man standing in the room with her.  
  
Tears streamed out of her eyes..."Who are you? You are not the man I knew...you are not the man I love..."  
  
For an instant she saw a look of horror and grief pass across his face as he saw the tears. She grabbed the opportunity...  
  
"Flint, what happened out there...that time...it wasn't your fault...you have too..."  
  
His face contorted with rage.  
  
"DON'T YOU DARE TELL ME ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED OUT THERE! You weren't there. You don't know..."  
  
"Flint...please"  
  
"If you saw me as anyone else you were deluding yourself. I am a soldier, a killer. What you see is what you get..." he turned away from her.  
  
"Now go..."  
  
"No. Tell me you never felt anything for me...say it to my face."  
  
"GO..."  
  
"I mean it Flint..if I leave now it's over between us."  
  
He didn't turn around...  
  
"Fine...close the door on your way out."  
  
She felt a nudge at her side and turned to see Shipwreck grinning at her from across the table  
  
"Hey...Jaye...are you listening to me?"  
  
"Hmmm? Sorry, I guess I am still tired from the drive..."  
  
"Well, I hope you get a good night's sleep tonight. Hawk is going to put us all through our paces tomorrow. " He was referring to the mandatory 'refresher' course at a base outside of the city. "I was asking you about your love life...cause you KNOW I am available if you are interested."  
  
"Really? " She flashed him a smile, slipping easily into the flirtatious banter the two of them had played at since they first met.  
  
"Oh come on Jaye, you know you've always had a thing for this old sailor. How 'bout you and me go off on our o...OW! Flint, watch it."  
  
"Sorry, my leg must have slipped."  
  
************************************************************************  
  
"Well, Roadblock...an excellent choice as usual", Duke patted his belly as they walked from the restaurant on to the streets, "But still doesn't compare to your own grub!"  
  
"You said it..." Shipwreck patted the big cook on the shoulder "Before this is all over I expect a good ol' fashioned Roadblock BBQ to satisfy my hearty appetite."  
  
Dash held back for a moment as his two friends made their way to corner to catch a cab back to the hotel. He watched as Alison and Shana huddled in front of the restaurant, giggling like schoolgirls.   
  
He sighed. He hadn't been able to form one complete sentence since she first arrived. Why is it that the sight of this woman, who he hadn't seen or talked to in three years, who for all intents and purposes probably despised him, still left him at a loss for words?   
  
It irked him that he still got like this. He had been the one to end it. He should be able to keep his head around her...not the other way around as it was turning out.   
  
"God...I even kicked Shipwreck in the shin for flirting with her", as if he still had some hold on the beautiful, dynamic woman sitting at the end of the table.  
  
"You did what you felt was right at the time," Flint thought to himself, "Its no use trying to change the past."  
  
Despite the fact that until his dying day he will regret that he had let her go, he should not let his emotions get the better of him. He was a professional. This was a job. He shouldn't let things get personal again. That's what got him in the whole mess in the first place.  
  
As if on cue, images of fire and men screaming in fear and pain assailed him. He shook his head to free his mind and the memories dissipated. As the years pass they are coming more infrequently, and are easier to control...but they are still with him.   
  
"Well, I had better start making my way back to the hotel." Jaye was saying to Snakes and Scarlet, "I need sleep...big time."  
  
"You need a lift?"  
  
"Thanks, but no...I'm staying at the Parker Meridian. It's just around the corner. I'll walk."  
  
Before his brain could register what was coming out of his mouth, Flint turned to Jaye and offered to walk her there.   
  
She turned to him, surprise...and then suspicion...clouding her face.  
  
"Its ok, Flint...It's too much trouble. I can make it there on my own."  
  
"Its no trouble at all," he answered while his mind was screaming 'what the heck are you doing...are you nuts?'  
  
She paused, and then nodded her assent.  
  
They made their goodbyes and turned towards the hotel, walking side by side, veiled in an uncomfortable silence.  
  
"Come on, Dash..." he chided himself, "say something. You were with her for years, you used to talk about everything..."  
  
"So...you are living in Canada now?" Yeah...good one...state the obvious.  
  
"Yes...I enjoy it. Montreal is a beautiful city. Small, very European...and the arts and cultural scene are second to none. Well, except maybe here."  
  
"Arts? Did you go back to acting?"  
  
"No, no. I was never really very good at it. Stage fright, don't you know. I decided after a year of travel with some old friends to batten down and complete my Phd."  
  
He looked over at her in surprise, and approval. He had always encouraged her to consider going for a higher degree. She had such a quick mind, and despite his own abandonment of academia, he still missed his university days at Oxford and the intellectual challenges that went with it.   
  
Jaye was one of the first women he had met during his stint in the military that he could match wits with on an equal level. It wasn't that the others weren't smart, though. Scarlet was as sharp as one of Snake Eye's Katanas and Cover Girl was quick on the uptake. Ali, however, was the only one who could counter his analysis of Byron or Yeates without skipping a beat.   
  
He watched the way the streetlights played across her face as she made her way south along W57th. A pleasant memory flashed through his mind of the two of them lying in bed in his quarters above the PIT.   
  
It was early on in their relationship, and she had come over after returning from a patrol only to crash out on his bed, fast asleep before her head even hit the pillow. He had crawled in beside her and had watched her resting form, her face bathed in the moonlight steaming through window. She looked so tranquil, so beautiful...so completely content...he remembered he had bent over to kiss her gently on the cheek and she had smiled in her sleep.   
  
That night, he knew, more than any other was a defining moment for him. What had begun for him as a challenge, a good time, a pleasant source of sexual gratification at that moment became something more. For he had begun to realize that he loved her.  
  
Suddenly, his mind was back in the jungle...screams assailing his ears, the smell of charred flesh assaulting his senses. He looked down at the ground beside him to see Alison lying in the mud, blood streaming from the place where her legs used to be, the side of her face charred and peeling. Her dead eyes looking up at him accusingly.  
  
"And what about you, Flint...what have you been up to, other than the CIA?"  
  
Lady Jaye's question brought him back to the present. He shuddered and breathed in slowly to clear his mind. Hoping that in the dark that she wouldn't notice how pale he had become. God, will it ever stop?  
  
"Ummm...well, after the PIT closed its doors I ended up in New Mexico for a bit before heading over to Boston to take up this position. I have been there ever since."  
  
"New Mexico? What were you up to down there?"  
  
'Healing', he thought to himself...while out loud telling her that he had been visiting a friend, which wasn't really a lie so much as not the entire truth. From the look she gave him he knew she thought he was alluding to another woman.  
  
'Yeah right, Ali', he thought sadly, 'as if anyone could ever take your place so quickly.' Or ever, it seemed. For here he was coming on forty and still running around like a rowdy bachelor.  
  
She stopped suddenly and he realized that they had reached their destination. They stared at each other in silence, unsure of what to say or do.  
  
"Well...I had better get a cab back to the hotel. I have a flight back to Boston to catch tomorrow."  
  
"Boston?"  
  
Was that a look of disappointment or relief that swept across her face? Probably relief. It hurt him more than he would like to admit. He hardened his voice unconsciously.  
  
"Don't look so relieved. I have some things to take care of and don't really need the skills evaluation, as I have never really left the 'business'. "  
  
She didn't react well to his tone.   
  
"What do you expect from me, Dashiell? Did you expect me to still be pinning over you after all this time? After what you said? After what you did to me?"  
  
"You were the one who left..." he countered, his pride taking over despite knowing the truth full well, which she was probably going to remind him...  
  
"YOU pushed me away", sure enough, there it was. Jaye was getting angry, her Gaelic lilt was becoming more and more apparent.  
  
"Look, I didn't come here to fight with you!"  
  
"Really...then why did you come? Did you not think I could handle myself on the rough streets of NY at night?" her biting sarcasm, never before directed at him, cut through him like a knife.   
  
Why did he come with her? He wasn't sure himself...  
  
"You know what, I don't need this crap." He snarled in frustration as he turned and hailed a cab.  
  
'Fine by me." She glared at him, "Jordan was right, I must have been crazy to come down here in the first place. This part of my life is over."  
  
Jealousy flared hot and sharp in his mind. Who was Jordan? "Fine...then go back to Jordan and leave us do our work."  
  
"Oh...you would love that wouldn't you. That would just confirm everything you said ...that I am not cut out for this anymore. NO way. I am part of this, I am a Joe, whether you like it or not."  
  
"That remains to be seen..." Shut up, you fool...shut up!  
  
Her face turned red with anger.  
  
"Don't you think you should be asking yourself that same question, given your own record as a commander..." she shut her mouth suddenly, her face falling as she realized that, in her anger, she had gone over into forbidden territory.  
  
He stared back at her, at a loss for words.   
  
"Hey mister...you hail a cab or what?" He paused for a moment, watching her expression change from anger to remorse, to anger...waiting for the backlash of rage from him that she probably remembered quite clearly.  
  
He turned from her, got into the cab and slammed the door.  
  
"You ok, buddy?" the cab driver asked, looking at him from his rearview mirror as he pulled the car into traffic.  
  
He didn't answer, he had turned to look at LJ only to find her already disappearing into the hotel.   
  
"Damn it!"   
  
"I hear you man...Woman can do that to a guy!" the cab driver smiled, startling him. He hadn't realized he had said it out loud. "Where to?"  
  
For an instant, just an instant, he wanted to tell him to drop him off at the nearest pub. He quashed the idea as quickly as it came. He was beyond that now...  
  
"Four Seasons, please."  
  
He sat back and closed his eyes.   
  
  
************************************************************************  
  
  



	3. Return to the PITT

"Ow, ow, ow, ow "   
  
Lady Jaye slowly lowered herself down on to the couch, gently resting her leg on the coffee table while adjusting the ice pack on her knee. The others had all gone out for drinks at a local bar, but she had declined, deciding at the last minute that she had better work her thesis.  
  
No doubt about it, she was hurting. Hawk had put them all through their paces this past week. She was pretty proud of herself, for she had nailed almost every one of the exercises. Thank goodness she had kept herself in good shape, she couldn't imagine being able to pass muster if she hadn't. As it was, she ached all over and her bad knee was starting to swell.  
  
"Girl, you are not as young as you used to be."  
  
The room vibrated suddenly, knocking the door open and rattling her laptop. She smiled at the familiar sensation, knowing full well that the cause was not an earthquake but a heavy transport moving through the secret headquarters hidden beneath the ground. A cool breeze wafted into the room from the now open doorway, but she was too sore to get up and close it again.  
  
Upon arrival at the base outside of NYC, they were immediately escorted onto a plane bound for the PITT. It was a bit disconcerting, being back on the old base. It felt even stranger to be in her old quarters. Nothing had changed since she had left it. The furniture was all in the same place, the same posters hung on the wall, and the window still sported the large crack that Scarlett had put into it. Unfortunately for the window, Jaye had ducked just in time. The boot Red had thrown had narrowly missed her head.  
  
"I can't believe I called her tawdry!" She thought to herself, " I must have had a death wish!"  
  
She was alone now. Scarlett had gone and moved herself into Snake Eye's quarters. It was so quiet, for although some more old friends had been waiting for them at the airfield, there were so many faces and voices that were missing. Ghosts and memories from the past were hiding in every room, in every corner. Sitting here by herself, surrounded by her past, she longed for those old days.  
  
"Ah well...Mom always told you that you can't move back, only forwards..." she sighed, reaching into her bag on the floor in an awkward attempt to retrieve her textbook.  
  
After all the activity the past few days, she was finding it hard to concentrate on the task at hand. She stared at the cover of the book she had pulled out of her bag, a colorful detail of Carracci's famous 'Triumph of Bacchus and Ariadne' adorning the cover.   
  
"Wittkower's 'Art and Architecture in Italy' is certainly not going to get me focused again. If anything it's going to put me to sleep." She thought to herself. "Come to think of it, sleeping might not be such a bad idea."  
  
She hadn't had a chance to rest lately, and it wasn't only because Hawk and Beachhead were running her ragged (the Ranger had been one of the Joes who had met them when they arrived, causing a groan to escape the lips of both Scarlet and herself. Beachhead made training an absolute nightmare on the women). The truth was her confrontation with Flint outside the hotel had shaken her confidence. Could she pull it off? Did she deserve to be here? Was she still 'Joe' material?  
  
Anger and guilt battled for position in her mind. Sure she had started the whole thing this time, jumping on his back at the slight change of tone in his voice. She had left him three years ago with her head bowed...she was coming back ready for a fight.  
  
Jaye had originally joined the armed forces to prove to herself that she was capable of doing it, that she was more than just a spoiled little rich girl from an 'old-money' New England family. She had excelled beyond even her own expectations, and knew in her heart that she could do it again, Flint be damned!   
  
Of course, that meant something else was bothering her and as irritating as it was to acknowledge, she knew the true cause if her malaise.   
  
In her angry rant she had blurted out something, words that would hurt him more than anything else she could possibly say. She had brought up the unmentionable...the source of his shame...his perceived failure...and from the look that crossed his face, it still hit home.  
  
Flint had never told anyone what went down in the jungles of Borneo. All she knew was that he had left with 12 men under his command and months later was the only one to return.   
  
Up until that mission she had considered their relationship to be very healthy, the two of them were quite close. But this...this he never mentioned. God forbid she should bring it up, for then he would either walk away and not talk to her for days or fly into a rage. Mind you, to talk to him about it would mean she would have to actually be alone with him, a rare occasion in the months following his return. He had avoided her like the plague.   
  
Painful memories flooded back, amplified by the familiar surroundings. How many nights had they spent together in this room? On this sofa?   
  
He had always been so gentle with her, so quiet and attentive. He had returned from 'eco-force' a changed man. He wouldn't touch her and flinched away when she so much as brushed him with her fingers. When she finally managed to pull him out of the shell, so to speak, he had taken her so roughly and quickly she had felt almost violated. He had left immediately after the deed was done. He hadn't even removed his clothes.  
  
That was the first and only time they had 'been' together since he returned, and the last memory she had of him in her bed.  
  
"God it hurts." she reflected, "This would be so much easier if I could just hate him and be done with it."  
  
The problem was, seeing him again had brought home to her how much she missed his presence. Or at least missed the 'old' Flint, the one she remembered so fondly. The one they had BOTH lost in the depths of the jungle.  
  
"Oh, the hell with it!!!" she exclaimed aloud, grabbing her bag and pulling out a pack of Dunhill's and a Zippo. She placed the cigarette gently in her mouth and lit up, taking a long, deep drag to calm her nerves. She lay back, pushing the books off her lap, and exhaled a column of smoke.   
  
So intent was she in producing that much needed nicotine induced serenity that she failed to notice the shadowy figure watching her from the open doorway.  
  
***********************************************************************  
  
He hadn't meant to stop and stare. In fact, he hadn't meant to be here at all. Flint had just come out of a briefing with Duke and Hawk and was making his way back to his quarters for some much needed sleep.  
  
Of course, he took the long way... which brought him right past her old room. It was done without thinking, really...as his mind was pretty focused on the mission at hand. In fact, when he found himself at her door, he was a bit startled. More so when he noticed it was open and that Jaye was sitting inside.   
  
She was wearing flannel plaid pajama bottoms, a grey ARMY tee shirt and, surprisingly enough, glasses. When had she needed those? He smiled inwardly, knowing that Jaye wasn't the only one feeling the effects of aging...much to his chagrin he also bowed to his doctor's advice last year and bought a pair of reading glasses.  
  
Flint noticed the ice on her knee and bit back the scathing remark that immediately came to mind about her ability to perform. He was just angry about the other night...he hadn't meant to comment on it then either, it just came out.   
  
"Old habits die hard," he thought to himself. But this wasn't really an old habit. It was a reaction whose unfounded basis lay in his own pain and insecurities. She hadn't deserved it then and she certainly didn't deserve it now.  
  
The meeting he had just left discussed the results of the five days of evaluation and training. So far, everyone had come through relatively well. Snakes and Scarlett had shown the strongest performance overall, as was to be expected. Shipwreck and Roadblock had both passed...although Shipwreck was a bit winded after the obstacle course...apparently complaining the whole time about his being a sailor and not infantry.  
  
Jaye had pulled in an especially impressive performance. Her endurance, agility, and weapons skills were still above par. He had watched the last bit of the training today, which turned out to be one of the most difficult...the simulated ambush. She still moved like a cat...silent and deadly...and took out three people on the opposing 'team' before the exercise was brought to a halt.   
  
He could tell by her body language, by the look on her face, by the weapon she selected, what her next move was going to be before she even did it. He could also tell she was favoring her right leg...that she was hurting. No one else would have noticed it, so subtle was her change in movement, but after working with someone closely for so many years, you get to know them very well. You have to, you rely on them, and your life is in their hands.   
  
"Her leg is bothering her..." He commented as the others went over her results. Hawk looked up and studied the ex-Warrant Officer now CIA operative carefully before responding. Flint kept his face impassive. He had remained quiet throughout the proceeding, only nodding his approval as Duke went over the team member's files.   
  
"And yet according to Beachhead she did very well considering she has been out of action longer than most."  
  
"I am just commenting on what I saw today. It was obvious to me that she was in some pain."  
  
Hawk sighed and shook his head. "Flint, we need her. She was...is...the best at what she does. We need Intelligence...as a CIA spook you should realize this more than most. We were fools to let her go so easily in the first place."  
  
Flint frowned at the last comment. The general knew very well why she had left. He knew very well what had gone down between himself and his partner. He was just too polite to say anything about it directly. He was skirting the edges...watching for signs that either of them might endanger this mission by bringing in personal issues from the past. If he so much as sensed the latter, the professional courtesy would be gone and he would be coming down hard. Flint was one of the few that had experienced it first hand. Not once but twice.  
  
The first time was after Lady Jaye handed in her resignation, an event that was really and truly all his own doing. He hadn't meant to push her right out of the force...or had he? That whole time was a blur of anger and pain. All he knew was that he was as upset about her leaving as anyone, although he was too proud...and too guilt-ridden...to admit it. This of course put him on the path that lead to the events that brought him under the Tomahawk a second time. It was a month before the Joes disbanded, and in this meeting he had nearly been kicked out of the Joes and given a dishonorable discharge. It was only because of the what went down in Borneo and his years of exemplary service that Hawk had saved his ass.   
  
He still can't believe how bad he had become. He was uncontrollable in the field, disobeyed orders and rude to his soldiers and to his commanding officers. The worst was the drinking. He never...NEVER...partook while on duty, but the rest of his day was spent alone in a drunken stupor. It clouded the memories, dulled the pain...   
  
He grimaced as he remembered those dark days.  
  
"Flint," Hawk brought him back to the present, "look me in the eye and tell me she isn't capable of pulling this off. If you truly feel that she would put herself and the team in danger tell me now and I will send her home."   
  
Dash looked up at his CO. He was giving him the benefit of the doubt, a sign of respect that he thought he had lost, a chance to undo some of the damage done by his previous behavior. Wasn't this one of the reasons he was here again?   
  
Duke looked at him and nodded, his old friend encouraging him to speak his mind.  
  
He sighed. "No. She belongs here as much as any of us. I just think we should have Lifeline look at her. If I remember correctly, Lady Jaye would be too stubborn to go see him herself. Just don't tell her I am the one who suggested it."  
  
Hawk smiled his approval. "Yes, she's got a temper, that one. Ok then, she's in...now, where were we...ah yes...Gung Ho..."  
  
He watched as Jaye pulled a book out of her bag and stared blankly at the cover. Her mind was obviously not on her work. Should he go in and talk to her? He felt an urge to do so but it was tempered by the fresh memory of the exchange they had in NY.   
  
Boy, she had let him have it.   
  
"Leave it to her to be the to bring up my failure in Borneo." He thought to himself as he watched her read, "And you deserved it you idiot. You just had to push her buttons, didn't you?"  
  
He had expected something, but was still surprised by the bitter anger that had come out of her mouth. Sure, he had been the target of her temper more times than he could count. He rubbed his jaw as he remembered the time she decked him when he blasted Snakes and Red about the Land Mine incident. He had pleasant memories of the aftermath, mind you.  
This time, however, was different. There was not affection in her voice. There would be no loving reconciliation. He had seen to that.   
  
There was movement in the room and Flint took a step back so as not to be seen. He watched as she pulled out a cigarette and lit up. His eyes narrowed as she leaned back and took a long drag. When did she pick that up?   
  
"It's not like you to skulk about in the shadows, Brother..." Flint started, and turned to come face to face with Spirit. He smiled warmly, and grasped his arm.  
  
"I see you haven't lost your stealth one bit. Good to see you again, Brother."  
  
Brother.  
  
Spirit and he had never been close during their time in the Joes. They had been acquaintances, fellow soldiers, but never friends. Funny how that had all changed after the team disbanded. He owed the Indian healer his life.   
  
Spirit looked to see what Flint had been watching, and smirked.  
  
"I figured as much. No one else would cause you to drop your guard so. How else would I have been able to get this close without you noticing? Come." He turned and signaled for him to follow "Let us go and grab some coffee. We have much to catch up on, you and I"  
  
Flint grunted and trailed Spirit as he walked towards the Mess.   
  
************************************************************************  
  
"Cold cereal? Again?" Roadblock moaned over his breakfast.   
  
They had all gathered in the old cafeteria, as they had been doing every morning since they arrived.   
  
"We don't have a cook anymore, remember?" Gung-Ho looked up from his Cheerios, the Marine having arrived with the Beachhead. "Unless you want to volunteer?"  
  
"No way am I wasting my talent on you, man...you have no appreciation for the finer things. Burned out your taste buds with all that Creole hot sauce."  
  
"Hey Jaye, do you want some Cereal with that sugar or what."   
  
"Oh Shit..."   
  
Shipwreck laughed as Jaye realized she had forgotten she had been pouring the sugar into her bowl. It was now a huge white mound on top of her breakfast.  
"And here I thought you were the only one NOT suffering this morning." Wild Bill sat down next to her, sunglasses on...obviously in pain as a result of last nights outing.  
  
"I was up all night working..." she glared at Shipwreck, who had practically fallen off his chair from laughter. She was about to fling some Cheerios in his general direction when Hawk's voice boomed through the PA system.  
  
"Lady Jaye and Flint, please report to my office ASAP."  
  
"Ohhh...why is that thing so good damned loud!" Wild Bill held his head in his hands.  
  
"Flint's back?" she asked, as she got up to leave.  
  
"He arrived early yesterday..." Beachhead replied, "Watched some of the training and then went into a meeting."  
  
"Leave it to a Ranger to talk with his mouth full...no manners..." Jaye walked out just as a food fight erupted between Beachhead and Leatherneck.  
  
"Some things never change." She thought. Including, it seems, Flint's habit of avoiding her. Whether it was a result of that night in NY or just a continuation of his irritating behavior, she was still miffed. Not that she really wanted to see him.  
  
So intent was she on her thoughts that she walked right into someone as she sped though one of the many narrow corridors leading towards Hawk's office.   
  
"Bloody Hell...sorry, I wasn't watching where I was goi..." She stopped and gasped. It was Flint, in his old uniform, beret and all. It was like she had been thrown back in a time warp. From the look on his face, he must have felt the same way. She had forgotten that she was wearing her old GIJOE greens as well...minus her hat, which she still hadn't found.  
  
"Lost in thought?" he smirked, composing himself instantly. For some reason it irritated her that he could do that so easily.   
  
"Come on. We have a meeting." He turned and she was forced to follow him. Oh, he still knew exactly how to ruffle her feathers. It wasn't adding to her mood.  
  
They saluted Hawk as they came in the door.  
  
"At ease, men...have a seat."  
  
"It seems as though we are going to need more information about this alleged COBRA operation. So far, our agents in the field have turned up very little in the way of concrete information. I don't want to send anyone down there without knowing what we are up against."  
  
"The two of you are the best I've got. I need you to team up and head down to Peru ASAP. There will be a private Chopper waiting for you...I assume you are still certified to fly, Flint?" He nodded and Hawk continued.  
  
"This is a reconnaissance mission. You are to gather what details you can and then get the hell out of there. The chopper is lightly armed, but nothing that would arouse suspicion on the ground."  
  
Hawk paused, considering his words carefully.  
  
"You two were a great team once upon a time. I trust you can put your personal differences aside and get this done. If you can't I need to know now. I will not jeopardize my men or this mission over any dirty laundry that comes up between you."  
  
She looked over at Flint, who had gone quite pale. Was he ok? Suddenly, her anger was gone and replaced with concern. Something Hawk said had set him off, she knew him well enough to see he was fighting it...she turned to the General.  
  
"No problem..." she said, hoping her confident tone would snap him out of it.  
  
Flint turned to her, his face expressionless. What was he thinking? She stared back...refusing to break his gaze.   
  
He sighed and turned to Hawk.  
  
"Like she said...no problem at all."  
  
************************************************************************   
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	4. Under Fire

Lady Jaye peered out the window of the Sikorsky S-76, drinking in the spectacular view of the Amazon basin. They were flying low over the incredible untamed wild, a lost Eden...If you looked over the horizon, you could see the Andes rising up out of the green carpet of forest. It took her breath away.  
  
Flint was taking his time moving towards their destination, enjoying the sights as much as she. Knowing him, though, he was probably having a blast flying this top of the line private chopper. The look on his face when he arrived at the airfield and saw the sleek black machine made her smile. It had been so long since she had seen him look that enthusiastic about anything.   
  
She turned to look at her old partner, who was quietly guiding the helicopter towards the coordinates Duke had given them. They had spoken very little since leaving the base, keeping things very professional. She had been concerned after they left Hawk's office...Flint had tensed considerably and she wondered what had set him off. To tell you the truth, she was worried about him. It wasn't like him to hold things in like that.   
  
She would have felt better had he blown a gasket or made some sarcastic comment. Flint has always had a hot temper, ever since she had known him...  
  
She had talked to Scarlett about him during the week of training and although Red hadn't really spoken to Flint since the team disbanded, she was in close contact with others that were. She spoke of his behavior after Jaye had left, and his disappearance after the Joes had disbanded...surfacing in Boston a year later as a high-ranking member of the secret service.  
  
She could imagine how bad it was, she had experienced it herself. That whole mission in Wolkekuckuckland had been a bloody nightmare. He had been a complete ass to her, angrily criticizing her every move. He was reckless and his temper was balanced on a razors edge...anything could and did set him off. He also showed a completely disregard for their safety...if Snake Eyes hadn't shown up that time they would surely be pushing up the daisies right now.   
  
The peak for her was when he had told her to kill her prisoner, and if she didn't have it in her he would do it for her. The guy had surrendered, he looked no more than a boy...and although he let her take him back to camp, later Flint had blown his head off with his bloody shotgun. He didn't even blink.  
  
Oh...and how could she forget him throwing Cobra Commander off that cliff. Enemy or not, war had rules of conduct. What he did was not only unethical it was downright inhuman.   
  
She had left the Joes not long after that mission.   
  
"You know, Jaye." Red had told her as they sat together on the roof of Snake's quarters, looking at the stars, "He seems to have dealt with his issues. But he is so quiet...too quiet."  
  
Lady Jaye nodded and looked up, her eyes watery.  
  
"Hey...you all right?" put her hand on her friends shoulder, concerned.   
  
"Yeah...I'll be fine. Its just a lot to handle..."  
  
"I understand...you know, Snakes seems to feel he is on the mend. Maybe you should give him a bit of a chance to..."  
  
She had laughed then, sadly..."A chance...right...a chance for him to tear into me again."   
  
"You have always been able to handle him before. You are the only one who could. I mean, I had never EVER seen Flint cowed until he became the target of one of your tirades. He admired your strength...he told me that in Grenada."  
  
"I guess I don't have it in me anymore... I am not letting my guard down with him. Not again, not this time."  
  
Scarlet had frowned then. "Jaye, have a heart. You have no idea what he went through..."  
  
"No I don't...he never shared that with me! And pray tell, Scarlett, what am I supposed to do? Lay myself bare again. I already told you... "  
  
"Hey...don't get angry with me. I'm just playing devil's advocate. You know I went through the same thing with Snakes. I mean it when I say I understand."   
  
"Well, Shana, I always told you that you were a better person than I..."  
  
Red sighed..."He never told anyone, you know. I think Hawk is the only one who has any idea what went on, and even then I doubt he knows the whole story."  
  
Lady Jaye turned to her dearest friend. She had never really gotten along well with other women, even before she joined army. Red and her had got off to a rough start, but over the years had become close. She had neglected the friendship terribly this past little while, and felt terrible about it. She had no right to jump down her back.  
  
"I'm sorry. I don't know why I am so snappy tonight."  
  
"Hey. Don't worry about it...what are friends for if not to use as a punching bag every so often!" They smiled at each other and turned back to watching the sky. They sat in silence for a while before Scarlett whispered.  
"It's ok to still feel the way you do. It doesn't mean you are weak. It only means you are human."  
  
Jaye closed her eyes. Leave it to Red to know her deepest secret.  
  
"We are coming up to the coordinates, Lady Jaye. See anything yet?" Flint's voice crackled through the headphones. Although he was sitting right beside her, the constant drone of the engine and blades would drown out his voice without the headset.  
  
She snapped to alert and brought the binoculars up to her face. From the corner of her eye she saw a flash of light, and considered telling her partner but as it was way off course she turned her attention back to the scene directly ahead.  
  
A clearing in the woods revealed a large villa and commune.  
  
"Funny..." she thought aloud.  
  
"What?"   
  
"It doesn't look like anyone is home. Can you bring us in a little closer?"  
  
He nodded and veered towards the compound, hovering low as Lady Jaye peered through her binoculars.  
  
"Nothing...hold on, let me switch to infrared." She pressed a button and the scene changed to one of darkness with the occasional hint of color."  
  
"And..." Flint was getting impatient. She didn't blame him...it had been a long flight to get down here and she was itching to get the job done and get back to the hotel in Iquitos for a shower and a meal.  
  
Suddenly, an image flashed in front of her. She turned to focus in and sighed in frustration.  
  
"Well...unless Cobra Commander has turned himself into a goat, I would say the place is snake free."  
  
"Damn it. I am going in for a closer look." Before she could voice her objection, he had broken the hover and was descending swiftly toward the courtyard. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw another flash of light.   
  
"Flint, wait...there is something out there. To the west...towards the mountains. I keep seeing these flashes."  
  
He slowed the chopper to a hover and looked at her. "My operatives have pictures and satellite images of COBRA activities at these coordinates. At this very compound...I doubt that they could get it completely wrong."  
  
"But here we are, and not a soul in sight. From the looks of it this place has been abandoned for a couple of weeks at the least. I think we should go check out the lights I saw..." She indicated the direction with her hand, "Over there...."  
  
"That is completely off course...look again. There might be some underground layer beneath this thing that we don't know about...Hawk and Duke need to know..."  
  
"Look, Flint...trust me. I have a gut feeling that those flashes might be just the information we are looking for. We have enough fuel...and we don't have the firepower right now for a ground search of this place should we encounter any resistance..."  
  
He stared at her for a moment, his face pensive, and then sighed and turned away, pulling the machine into a climb in one swift motion.  
  
"If there is one thing I remember about working with you, Jaye, it is not to ignore your 'gut' feelings. "  
  
They flew in silence for a good twenty minutes before Jaye saw another flash...closer this time.   
  
"I saw it," Flint interrupted her before she could point it out. "Looks like sunlight reflecting off metal. Could be poachers, or forestry workers...anything. Bloody wild goose chase...what the heck am I going to report to..."  
  
"INCOMING! 3 O'CLOCK" Jaye yelled as she saw the SAM shooting towards them.   
  
"Shit! Hold on!"  
  
With a move worthy of a stunt pilot, Flint dropped the helicopter so suddenly that Jaye thought for a moment that they were going to crash into the trees. The missile passed harmlessly overhead and he brought the chopper to a sudden halt inches above the tree line.  
  
"Since when do poachers have HISS tanks! Look!"  
  
She pointed to the clearing straight ahead. Coming out of a cave in the side of the mountain was a veritable brigade of troops and equipment. The vipers were bringing their weapons to bear.  
  
"Flint...this is no drug cartel...LOOK OUT!" One of the Vipers had launched a missile, which was heading directly for them. Flint just barely avoided it, using what limited weaponry he had to blow it out of the sky a few feet from the cockpit.  
  
"We have to get out of here, NOW...this machine is not equipped for combat."   
  
"You don't see me arguing. Kick it, Flint!"  
  
She held on for dear life as Flint threw turned the chopper sharply around and slammed it into full throttle. Ahead of them and to the right, missile launchers suddenly appeared above the tree line, turning to take aim on their small craft.  
  
"FLINT!"  
  
"I see them! Something tells me they don't want us to leave. Get on the radio to headquarters...Hawk need to be warned!"  
  
She struggled to turn the knobs of the transmitter to the correct frequency as Flint bobbed and weaved his way around the hostile fire.   
  
"Aerie, this is Eagle, do you read? Over"  
  
The heat from an exploding missile blasted her the side of her face. "Can you cut it a little closer, Flint?"  
  
"No pain no gain..." he smiled wildly as he turned to avoid another round.  
  
"Eagle, this is Aerie. What's your status? Over."  
  
"We are under attack. I repeat. We are under attack. That drug compound was only a decoy...Cobra has got an army down here...we need...."  
  
A sudden jarring motion knocked the helicopter in to a spin, flames shooting out of the engine. The last thing she saw was the ground coming up fast and then darkness.  
  
************************************************************************  
  
"Tell me where your men are hidden, Flint...We know you aren't here alone."  
  
"Faireborn, Dashiell R., Warrant Officer, 307-62-4107"   
  
"Come now. We need to know where you are positioned in order to 'escort' you out of the area. We know you didn't 'mean' to stumble across our little operation..."  
  
"Faireborn, Dashiell R, Warrant Officer, 307-62-4107"  
  
"Enough of this..." a hand punched him in the face, hard, drawing blood. He shook his head and smirked at his captors. His arms were shackled to the ceiling, his feet to the ground...they had removed his shirt.   
  
"You think this is a game, don't you. You are an arrogant son of a bitch." He turned to see Destro walking out of the room. "Do what you have to do, Doctor. We need to know what the Joes have found out. We need to find his men before they get word back to the headquarters."  
  
"My pleasure...now please, Flint, one last time....Where are your men?"  
  
"Faireborn, Dashiell R. Warrant Officer, 307-6....ARRRRRRRRR" He howled in pain as the first blade cut into his shoulder....  
  
Flint opened his eyes to find himself staring through the broken windshield of a chopper at the ground directly below. He blinked to clear his mind, and shifted his body in an attempt to discern where he was, wincing as a searing pain shot through his shoulder. The sensation cleared his mind and he began to slowly piece together where he was...  
  
He had been flying... scouting ... enemy fire...  
  
"JAYE!" He suddenly remembered what had happened and turned to the woman next to him. Blood was dripping down a gash in her temple and she wasn't moving. He ignored the pain as he turned to remove his seatbelt and carefully crawled to her side. The helicopter swung precariously, obviously hanging from the branches and vines of the tree they had hit. He looked out the window again...it was a long drop to the ground.  
  
He searched for a pulse and let out a barely restrained sigh of relief as he felt it beating strongly beneath the skin of her wrist.  
  
"Jaye," he whispered in her ear, "Wake up!"   
  
No response.  
  
"Hey...this is no time to be sleeping on the job." Flint shook her gently, "Come on, beautiful, we need to get out of here now."   
  
He heard a groan escape her lips and saw her eyes flutter open. .  
  
"Man...my head...", she looked around, determining where she was and what had happened. Her eyes made contact with his, and she frowned.  
  
"Remind me again why I choose to come back?" she said, touching her head and wincing.  
  
"Because you just couldn't resist being on a mission again with your dashing teammate." He smiled in spite of himself as she stared at him in surprise.  
  
She smiled "Modest as always..."  
  
He turned from her, suddenly uncomfortable. "Try the radio. Lets see if we can't get ourselves a lift out of this wilderness."  
  
There was a pause as she fiddled with the transmitter. Then a sigh...  
  
"Dead."  
  
"Damn. So much for plan A." He thought for a moment of what to do, "Ok, Grab what you can but be careful. I don't know how much longer these branches are going to hold." He bit back a moan as his shoulder hit the seat as he was making his way into the back to grab his pack and weapon.  
  
"You're bleeding, Flint!" He saw her hand moving towards him and before he could control his reaction he flinched and pulled away quickly, trying to ignore the hurt look that crossed her face.  
  
"Its nothing..." He replied, sharper than he had intended, and continued in a softer tone as he saw the flash of temper in her eyes, "Don't worry, it's just a scratch. I'll be fine. Now lets get the hell out of here before those Vipers come looking for survivors."  
  
He slapped himself mentally as they collected their things and made their slow and careful way down to the forest floor. There was a time when her slightest touch would send sparks of desire coursing through his veins. There was a time when he couldn't keep his hands off of her. Now he idea of her touching him sent him into a classic fight or flight reaction. Psych-Out said it was perfectly normal given what had happened.  
  
"Yeah, right...like I told the damn shrink anything. I only went to those sessions because Hawk ordered me to."  
  
Problem was, the desire was still there...but coupled with his state of mind after Borneo it became too dangerous to give in to it. He shuddered as he remembered the last time he had been with her. He hadn't meant to hurt her, but he had. Not physically...but emotionally. He knew it the minute he had 'finished'. The look in her eyes still haunted him.  
  
Funny, though. He had no trouble jumping in the sack with the numerous women he had seduced since he arrived in Boston.   
  
"God's gift to women," he remembered Shipwreck's amused comment the day they met for drinks at a pub near his office. Women had surrounded the table. "Glad to see you haven't lost your touch!"  
  
The problem was, he had lost something else.  
  
He remembered those days so long ago when he had begun his quest to win over Lady Jaye. He had met her the day he arrived to take up a position with the Joes...showing off his skills with the tank they had given him. Lady Jaye had been one of the 'targets', and was less than amused by his arrogant comments. She had caught his eye immediately upon arrival at the base, as she was very beautiful...but her angry response made her all the more intriguing.   
  
The fact that she seemed to resist all his moves no matter what he tried made him want her all the more. He was used to woman fawning all over him. This was a challenge his inflated ego just couldn't resist.   
  
Duke had warned him that she was 'out of his league'. A hardheaded but very skilled soldier from a well-to-do family. She was well educated and a consummate professional...an asset to the team that his old friend would rather he not mess with. He had nodded his assent but couldn't stop himself.  
  
Who would have known the tables would end up turning on him. That she would end up being the one who drove him wild, who won HIS heart.  
  
He still remembers that first kiss. It came a couple of days after the invasion of Fort Wadsworth and the destruction of the PITT. All of his material had failed to get even a small rise out of this woman...even after he resorted to telling her, in frustration, that she could do a lot worse than taking up with him. Of course, he would never know whether this line might have worked as she had spotted the invading COBRA EELS not long after and he, in all his macho glory, had gone running to engage.  
  
She had tended to his wounds after things had died down, calling him 'an idiot', 'a hothead' and various other creative names as she bandaged up his damaged wrist. It might have been the painkillers, but as she gently washed his wounds he started sharing stories with her about his life. For some reason he had turned off his 'charm' and let his hidden 'self' out of the bag.  
  
At the height of all this uncharacteristic behavior, which occurred as they walked to the from the command center into the pouring rain, he admitted that he had been afraid. These were not things he was used to sharing with anyone, much less a woman he had his sights on, but for some reason he couldn't stop himself.  
  
He was certain Jaye had been suspicious of the sudden shift in attitude. However, as they made their wet way past the crater they had once called home and looked down at the ruins in sadness and disbelief, she had taken his hand and moved towards him slowly.  
  
She gazed into his eyes for what seemed like an eternity before leaning in to gently kiss him on the lips. He had been so stunned that all his well-honed skills had deserted him. She smiled at him, and then turned without a word to walk away.   
  
He had stood frozen in that spot for a little while before smiling and turning back towards his own quarters.   
  
"Like putty in my hands" he had thought to himself in triumph...when in reality he couldn't help but notice, much to his chagrin that it seemed to be the other way around.  
  
"Any idea where we are," Jaye asked as she turned to look at the wall of vegetation that surrounded them.  
  
They had reached the ground and Flint was taking an inventory of what they had managed to salvage. It wasn't much.... they hadn't planned for more than a day trip. Some food, a shotgun and a Desert Eagle with limited ammo, a couple of grenades and some flares, a med kit, matches, water purifying tablets, a compass, two machetes, and a map.  
  
The GPS, thank god, was still working. He turned it on and waited for it to hone in on their position, spreading the map out on the ground in front of him. Jaye came up beside him to take a look. Her scent, a familiar mixture of vanilla and lily of the valley filled his senses, and he took a step away, pretending to get a better signal for the GPS.  
  
"Hmmm..." he looked at the map, searching for the area that the readings indicated. "We are here." He pointed to a spot on the map...far, FAR off their original flight plan...on the west side of the Amazon basin in Peru. It seems that while avoiding the hostile fire they had veered completely off course.  
  
He sighed in frustration. "Well...I hope you are up for a long walk though uninhabited rainforest. Looks like we have quite a trek ahead of us."  
  
She looked at him questioningly. "To where?"  
  
"The way I see it, no one knows where we are...or if we are still alive. We are going to have to make our way..." his finger traced a path to the area where the abandoned compound had been located. "...Here. I noticed a radio tower there when we were scouting the place. If we can get there we can radio for help. We certainly can't stay put and wait for rescue. We can't be certain the Joes even know where we are, and I'm sure COBRA will be coming to check out the wreck. I have no desire to be captured again."  
  
"Again?"  
  
He pretended not to hear her, angry with himself for letting that slip. "Looks to me like a good week or two of solid trekking, given the thickness of the vegetation. Which reminds me..." he threw her one of the machete, which she caught with her usual grace, "you might be needing one of these."  
  
"Ok...you ready?" He swung his pack gingerly onto his shoulder, thankful at least that it was lightweight.... not so thrilled by the lack of gear that made it so  
  
She nodded, donning her own pack.  
  
He grabbed a grenade off his belt and pulled the pin before throwing it into the cockpit of the ruined helicopter. Lady Jaye's eyes went wide as it burst into a ball of flames.  
  
"Are you nuts!?" she exclaimed angrily as he walked past her, "If COBRA didn't know where we were before they certainly know now!"  
  
"Yes...but this way they might think we'e dead..." he said calmly, "...and any evidence to the contrary will be burned to a crisp. It might buy us some time to get a substantial head start before they begin to track us."   
  
"You really think they are going to bother?"  
  
"They went to a lot of trouble to ensure that our small tour 'copter never made it out of the area. I think they are hiding something big. They're not going to take the chance that we get out of here to report what we saw."  
  
"Believe me...I know." He left that last thought to himself. He paused and looked at the trail ahead of him, and took a deep breath to calm his nerves. It would be the first time he will have set foot in a jungle in over three years. The fear that assailed him and the look of concern on Jaye's face triggered his anger.  
  
"Come on then," he said sharply, "lets get a move on."  
  
With that, he began moving forward into the dark reaches of the Amazon rainforest.  
  
************************************************************************  
  
"We are under attack. I repeat. We are under attack. That drug compound was only a decoy...Cobra has got an army down here...we need...."  
  
Dial-Tone turned off the radio and turned to Hawk. "The transmission ended abruptly and moments later the helicopter disappeared from radar"  
  
The Joes gathered in the ops center stared at their commander in horror and disbelief.   
  
"Its seems, men, that we have a rescue on our hands, as well as a mission that is bigger than we originally thought."  
  
"A rescue?" This from Roadblock, who was sitting in shock at the back of the room, "Do we know they are still alive?"  
  
"Flint is quite the pilot" Wild Bill cut in before Hawk could reply, "If anyone could bring a damaged chopper down safely it would be him."  
"Agreed. Until we have evidence to the contrary, Flint and Lady Jaye are considered MIA. We are going to get them out of there as fast as we possibly can."  
  
"Yeah...before they kill each other." Shipwreck commented wryly and nervous laughter erupted from the twenty Joes that had answered Hawk's call.   
  
The general smiled. "Right, I had forgotten about that. Duke, how fast can we mobilize?"  
  
"Given the fact that we seem to be facing a bigger threat than we initially anticipated, I would say a week to get ourselves down there and ready for battle."  
  
"Not good enough. We have an unknown COBRA threat on our hands and two of our men lost in the depth of the rainforest."  
  
"Alright then..." Duke considered for a moment before continuing. "I want all personnel working to get us in the air and headed south in two days. Snake Eyes, I need you to form up a search party ASAP, I am going to send you and a team of three men down there tomorrow morning to begin the SAR operation."   
  
Snakes nodded.  
  
Hawk turned to his men, "Ok...so lets get to it! Dismissed!"  
  
Scarlett held back on the way out, waiting for Snake Eyes to catch up. She was worried and upset about her missing friends, especially Alison.  
  
Snakes felt her tension and touched her softly on the cheek.  
  
"We will get them out of there, don't worry. We have succeeded in tougher situations than this." He signed.  
  
"If they are still alive..." a tear fell down her cheek.  
  
"They are alive...and they will keep each other safe."  
  
"I hope so," she whispered as he gathered her up into his arms, "Shipwreck is right...Flint isn't the same man he used to be. He is in a jungle with very few supplies and weeks from civilization with someone he has been avoiding for over three years..."  
  
A voice interrupted them.  
  
"Flint will handle himself well enough. He knows what to do."  
  
They both turned to see Spirit standing beside him. Scarlett was surprised he knew enough about the Warrant Officer to say this with such conviction and told him as much.  
  
"I know because I trained him in the art of tracking. Where do you think he was all that time after the team disbanded?"  
  
Scarlet and Snakes both stared at him in surprise. The shaman turned soldier smiled a mysterious smile.  
  
"His spirit was lost and needed help finding its way home. I am a spirit guide. I did what I could, but she is the key... He won't let anything happen to her, for if it does he will loose himself completely..."  
  
Snake eyes smiled and nodded, understanding. He signed quickly...  
  
"He wants to know if you are interested in joining our little search and rescue team..."  
  
Spirit nodded.   
  
"Well, then, that's three..."  
  
"Four..." a voice chimed in from behind. Shipwreck.  
  
"We are going into a jungle, sailor..." Snakes signed at him "You would be like a fish out of water..."  
  
"Like any of us is Recondo!" Shipwreck cut him off, "A ninja, an Indian healer, a counter intelligence expert and a sailor. More like 'The Village People' than a jungle rescue team."  
  
Snakes scowled at him.   
  
Shipwreck scowled back. "They are my friends too."  
  
The silent ninja sighed and shook his head in exasperation as his wife smiled and put her hand on his shoulder.  
  
"Looks like we have a team!"  
  
************************************************************************  



	5. Haunted by the Past

"I would give my right arm for a doughnut right now," Lady Jaye thought to herself as she felt her stomach gurgle. They had been walking for two days straight and had eaten very little. Her body was beginning to feel the strain.  
  
She looked up at the figure walking ahead of her. Flint kept a steady pace, pausing every so often to chop at the vegetation ahead with his machete. However, even he was showing signs of exhaustion.  
  
In fact, now that she looked more closely, her partner seemed to be slowing down quite a bit. Jaye watched in concern as he paused in mid stride and leaned against a tree.  
  
"As pleasant as it is to watch your behind for miles on end, I could do with a change of scenery. Mind if I take point?" she asked him softly, jokingly, not wanting to 'hurt his pride' by pointing out that he might need some rest. Things had been going too well to risk a confrontation now.  
  
Jaye had been pleasantly surprised by the skill Flint had shown negotiating this dense wilderness, even more so by the fact that they had managed to keep a civil tongue and work together as a team. It wasn't easy, but the situation was perilous enough that they could not afford to let their guard down. Although they had seen neither hide nor hair of COBRA, Flint still contended that they were being tracked.   
  
The first day and night had been the worse. Flint had pushed her hard to put as much distance between themselves and the chopper before nightfall. They marched in silence, the only sounds that of their feet hitting the ground and the calls of the diverse wildlife around them.  
  
Her knee, still sore from the previous week's training, was hurting her, and her head was pounding as a result of the crash. It was a struggle to keep up, but her pride prevented her from saying anything. Her pride and the fact that she really didn't want to deal with the backlash that would be sure to follow if Flint found out she was not 100%.  
  
Somehow she had found it in herself to keep going despite the pain and managed to make it to the first 'camp' without incident. Flint had selected a small, protected area in the trees near the Amazon which was far enough off the game trail that they had been following so that any COBRA patrol would not be able to spot them easily and close enough to the river so that they could restock their water supplies without much effort.  
  
They had eaten what they could spare, too exhausted and too uncomfortable to converse. She could tell that he was on edge and was no fool... the similarity to the terrain and climate of Borneo was obvious and this situation was most likely bringing back bad memories. She had seen the expression on his face as they left the crash site. This couldn't be easy for him, and despite everything, her heart felt his pain. She wasn't about to make it worse if she could help it, which considering the state of what remained of their relationship meant keeping her mouth shut.  
  
She had first watch that night, and after making sure he was asleep Jaye quietly and carefully made her way down to the riverbank. She lay herself down on the mossy ground, took off her boot and sock, and rolled up her pant leg. As she slowly dipped her leg into the cold dark water, she prayed that the water was not infested with piranha, crocodile, snakes...or her all time favorite...leeches.  
  
"You have definitely got to stop watching the Crocodile Hunter", she mumbled to herself, gasping as the cold hit her knee. "It's not an icepack, but it will have to do."  
  
She sat back and listened to the sounds of the night, her mind drifting as she tried to shut out the dull throb of her swollen joint.   
  
Suddenly, she felt something drop into her lap and jumped in alarm...reflexively reaching for the gun by her side. He looked down to see a bottle of Advil Gel-Caps lying where it had fallen beside her and turned to see Flint standing over her, holding a tensor bandage.  
  
She turned red with embarrassment and then anger, putting up her defenses for the fight that was sure to come.   
  
"I thought Lifeline was supposed to look at that before we took off..." he said in as neutral a tone as he was capable. Jaye looked up at him with narrowed eyes, how did he know about that? As usual, he read her mind...  
  
"You think I wouldn't notice you favoring your right leg during training?"  
  
So it was HIM that had ordered that physical! She pursed her lips and attempted to remain calm. "I am fine. I am just a little sore. I won't hold you ba..."  
  
He interrupted her with a gesture. "Still as stubborn as ever, I see..."  
  
"STUBBORN!" she lost it, "If that isn't that pot calling the kettle black! Why if I had a dime for every time I had to put up with your bloody..." She stopped in mid rant when she noticed in the moonlight that he was smiling.  
  
"What's so funny?"  
  
"Nothing, nothing" he said as he moved closer and sat at her side handing her the canteen with the treated water. "Here, take the Advil. It will help a bit."  
  
She studied him for a moment, watching his eyes for signs of the disdain and rage she had grown to fear. Instead she saw exhaustion, sadness...and something else...could it be fear?   
  
No...not Flint.  
  
Sighing, she took the canteen from his hands and swallowed two pills. They sat in silence for a bit looking out over the water. She thought he had fallen asleep again and was startled when she heard his voice beside her.  
  
"So, how did that happen?" he asked, indicating her knee, still floating underwater.  
  
"Oh...um....Rugby. I got hit hard from the side. Managed to avoid surgery, but the thing hasn't been the same since."  
  
"Rugby?" he laughed softly, "Why am I not surprised, Tomcat."  
  
Tomcat...her heart jumped at the sound of his old pet name for her. He had come up with it early on, after traveling with her to the Vineyard while on leave to meet some of her old friends. Amused by her nickname, Ali-Cat, which had been given to her in grade school and which she hadn't been able to shake since, he had put his own spin on it a couple of days later. It was a reference to her tomboy nature, and was usually used when they were alone together.  
  
"Boy...I haven't heard that name in a long time," she whispered sadly.  
  
"We haven't really talked in a long time, I guess. Talked without coming to blows that is..." he shifted beside her handing her the bandage, "I think you can take your knee out of the water now. Wrap it up tight and get some sleep. I want to be on the move as early as possible tomorrow morning.  
  
With that he was gone.  
  
He was right. It had been the first time in over three years that they had spoken to each other without ending up in a verbal brawl. That brief interlude by the water seemed to have weakened the barriers that had been raised between them, enough that the next day and night were much less tense, although just as quiet. They talked a bit when they made camp, Flint commenting on her thesis, asking her questions about McGill and her travels after they had left the team. At one point, he even let her in on the mystery of what he was doing in New Mexico.  
  
"I was with Spirit. Its hard to explain...I needed help and he, he was there..."  
  
That was as far as he got on the subject, but at least it was something. Part of her was hurt at the thought that he went to what amounted to a stranger for help instead of her...had driven her off no matter how hard she tried to work through his pain. The other part admitted that the Shaman was probably the best thing for him. He was a healer after all, and although she would be hard pressed to understand the nature of his skills, she would be a fool to question the results.  
  
He might not be the same man he used to be, but he was certainly better than when they last saw each other.  
"I'm fine. Lets keep moving." He moved forward again, and stumbled, hitting his shoulder against a tree. He swore in pain and held it with his free hand. Jaye saw fresh blood seeping through his shirt.  
  
She stepped forward instinctively, grabbing his arm to steady him, which caused him to jump back so quickly that he slammed his shoulder into another branch...this time hard enough that he nearly passed out from the pain.  
  
"This is ridiculous, Flint...Its obvious this is more than just a scratch. You have got to let me look at it..."  
  
"I said I am fine...just leave it be, Jaye" He replied through gritted teeth.  
  
"Yes...you look fine to me. Come on, Flint...two nights ago you were busy telling me that I was stubborn" she moved forward again and Flint took a step back, his eyes blazing.  
  
"I SAID LEAVE IT BE!"  
  
She stopped. This was what she remembered. This is what she feared. She had been deluding herself. Nothing had changed...he despised her. He didn't want her near him...  
  
She was afraid of him.  
  
Jaye watched him struggle to get up and move forward through the bush, when Scarlett's words from the other day flashed through her mind.  
  
"You could always handle him before..."   
  
Yes she could. She had been confident around him. She never let him get away with the crap he was pulling now. But she had also trusted him, was confident that he loved her and no matter what she did or said he would never hurt her. After Borneo she was no longer so sure.   
  
"He admired your strength..."  
  
He stumbled again, and somehow, somewhere deep down she found the courage to do what she did next.  
  
"No Flint. You are going to let me look at it now!" she told him, grabbing his arm and holding him tight so he wouldn't jump off.   
  
"Let go..." he growled menacingly.  
  
"No."  
  
"Jaye...I'm warning you."  
  
"And what are you going to do to me, Flint? Kill me? Because that is what you are going to have to get me to sit still back there and watch while you suffer like this."  
  
He glared at her, his eyes like ice.   
  
Somehow, deep within, she found the strength to glare back. Strength and confidence she had thought she lost. The compassion for him that she had all but given up on.  
  
"Hawk needs us to get him this information. We have to warn him. You are not going to be able to do that in this condition."  
  
Nothing.  
  
"Come on, Dash." she said softly, "I know you are in their somewhere, behind all this anger...let me in for a little while. You can go back to hating my guts later, but for now I need to treat your injury. I need you in top form. I need you to get us both out of here alive."  
  
She felt him relax under her grip, saw his eyes soften.  
  
"Fine." He grunted, and looked away.  
  
"I need you to take your shirt off. Give me your pack...I need your med kit."  
  
He removed his shirt and stood before her. She looked up from the kit and saw the big hole in his shoulder, swollen and an angry red.   
  
"Just a scratch...JUST A SCRATCH! That's a bloody bullet hole. And it looks like it is infected. Jeez, I hope this med kit is up to scratch...turn around, lets see if the bullet went through...although from the look at the blood on your shirt I suppose it did."  
  
He looked at the ground. His shoulders hunched...What was with him? He used to LOVE to show off those washboard abs and broad shoulders. She sighed in frustration and took him gently by his good shoulder and spun him around.  
  
She could barely restrain a gasp of shock and horror at what she saw. Flint's head dropped lower...his posture a study in shame.  
  
"Oh, Dash...what did they do to you?" she said quietly, "What did they do to you?"  
  
His back was a ravage of scar tissue. Welts crisscrossed skin, here and there the signs of a burn...the flesh melted like wax. There were areas where it looked as though pieces of skin had literally been peeled away from his body, leaving long gouges along his ribcage. It was a veritable landscape of pain and suffering.  
  
Tears began to fall freely from her eyes as she slowly and gently attempted to put her hand on his back. He flinched as her skin touched his, but stayed still, his breathing shallow, his body tense. Her fingers softly traced the line of scars.  
  
How could she have missed this? How could she have been so blind?  
  
"Ugly, isn't it," she barely heard his quiet, broken voice. "Mindbender's handy-work."  
  
"Dash..."  
  
"I was captured while on patrol. I was alone. I left my men holed up at our secret base camp and went out. I needed space. I needed to breath. I was angry and not paying attention. I was angry at being stuck in that jungle. I wasn't taking things seriously enough. I had let my guard down...they caught me easily."  
  
"It seems my little group had stumbled across something bigger than we had originally thought. Destro didn't want any of us leaving, although none of us really knew the secret he was so desperate to hide."  
  
"I was there for days...they...they...worked on me for days..." He stopped and took a breath...  
  
"Eco-Force...what a joke. Bloody neon clowns is what I considered it to be. So did the others. But I was their leader...I should have taken my job more seriously. I should have buried my resentment at being sent away from what I thought was the 'real' action..."  
  
He buried his face in his hands and breathed in suddenly, obviously trying to pull himself together. He succeeded, because the next thing she knew he was looking at her, eyes dry.  
  
She didn't know what to say. What could she say? There was more to this story than Flint was telling her, but to even get this much, after so many years of silence...  
  
"Dash, I..."  
  
"Don't. Please..." he whispered, "I don't want your pity. Just fix me up...you're right, we need to get out of here. I need to get you out of here. Oh...and Alison..."  
  
"I have never hated you..."  
  
************************************************************************  
  
"Well, I'll be..."  
  
"What is it CleanSweep?" Ozone came to sit next to his friend, who had settled in front of the fire with a letter from home. Flint sat with them, sipping on his coffee.  
  
"You won't believe this guys...but I'm going to be a dad!"  
  
"You're kidding! Oh my god, congratulations old buddy. That's great news!"  
  
"Hey that's wonderful, Sweeps..." Flint looked up at his soldier and smiled. The three of them had actually become pretty close while working on the team. They all got along from day one, and tended to hang together after they had completed their duty. Flint was never one to let his command position deter him from nurturing friendships with his men.  
  
"How's the little lady doing?"   
  
"Oh, she's fine. God, I wish I was there with her."  
  
"Hopefully, we can get ourselves out of this hell hole and home soon." Flint commented between sips.  
  
"You guys are so lucky to have women waiting for you when you get back," Ozone said sadly.  
  
CleanSweep laughed and patted him on the shoulder. "Don't worry, Zones...you'll have your day. Look, if an ass like Flint can bag someone as stunning and intelligent as Lady Jaye, there is hope."  
  
Flint laughed, "Thanks a lot!"  
  
"Its true. How in the world did you manage to get her, much less keep her for...how long..."  
  
"Almost five years...and it wasn't easy."  
  
"Worth it I bet!" Ozone piped in.  
  
Flint sat back and smiled his famous lopsided grin as he thought of Alison. His Alison. You had better believe it was worth it.   
  
"FIVE years! So any plans on making an honest woman out of her?"   
  
Flint nearly choked on his coffee, it came spraying out of his mouth.   
  
"HA! Sorry Flint, " Cleansweep laughed aloud, "Didn't mean to scare you. I guess I am just settling into my role as family man."  
  
The scene shifted suddenly. He was crawling through the mud, making his way towards the firefight going on ahead of him. He was in terrible pain, but he had to get to his men. He had to warn them. He shook his head to clear his mind. Everything was fuzzy. He was having trouble separating fantasy from reality. Bloody Mindbender...  
  
His hand hit something soft. He grabbed it and brought it closer to his face for a closer look. He recoiled in horror. It was a human hand...he tried desperately to get a hold of himself as his eyes traveled down to the body attached to it. It was covered in blood and charred beyond recognition. Smoke was still rising from the body. It smelled like cooked flesh.   
  
Slowly, he reached for the dog tags still hanging around its neck...they were still hot enough to burn his hand but he was beyond caring about such trivial pain. He brushed off the blood and read the name...Price, Daniel L.  
  
CleanSweep.   
  
"NOOO!"  
  
He woke up with a start, disoriented. It was pitch black, moonlight barely breaking the thick canopy of trees above him. A shape a few feet away from him drew his eye...a body. He tensed, and then realized it was just Jaye, sleeping soundly. His mind began to clear and he remembered where he was.  
  
He swore under his breath as he sat up and took a deep breath to steady his nerves. It had been a while since he had had a nightmare like that. For a long time they haunted his sleep...but they had faded as time went by, so much so that he thought he was rid of them for good.  
  
He wiped the sweat from his brow. Obviously he had been wrong.  
  
Lady Jaye shifted in her sleep, turning, trying to find a more comfortable position on this hard, wet ground. She came to rest facing him, and he looked down at her face and sighed.  
  
"You had to push it, didn't you" He whispered to her, not expecting a response. Not really wanting one.  
  
He had no doubts about what triggered this relapse. She had seen it. Seen the mess that had been his back, the disgusting mass of scars that marred the body that he had so prided.  
  
She had seen the permanent reminder of his shame.  
  
In a way, it had been a relief showing her, telling her. He wondered how he had managed to keep it hidden from her for so long.   
  
When the Australian troops found him half crazed, they had him airlifted to a hospital in Sydney, where he spent a month recovering alone. He touched base with the Joes, told Hawk what had happened, but had asked that they leave him be. He was happy that he was half way round the world. No one would see him in this state, especially not her.  
  
When he returned he went to the families of every single one of his men and told them of their loss. Him alone. He owed them that much. The worst had been CleanSweep's wife, now showing signs of the baby growing within. A baby who will never meet his or her father...a widow who will never see her husband's smile again.   
  
Her cries of grief and loss are still with him.   
  
He had given a full report to Hawk, leaving out his capture and subsequent torture. No one knew but him. No one was left to dispute his claims. The general was no fool, but Flint had never given him reason to doubt him before, and he was telling the truth, just not the whole truth.   
  
Even after tonight, he hadn't spilled all. Even now he held things back. Despite all they had done to him with the knives, the acid, he hadn't broken. He hadn't revealed the position of his base camp.   
  
But there are worse things than physical torture...  
  
He shuddered and his hand came up to his shoulder. It was still tender but much better than it was. She had done a good job cleaning it out.  
  
"You learn a lot when you live with a medical student..." she had said. He closed his eyes and fought down a twinge of pain. She had moved on, of course, why would he delude himself into thinking otherwise.  
  
"You can go back to hating my guts later..." That one statement had shocked him enough to break his anger at being held and allow her to treat him. How could she think that? Nothing could be farther from the truth.  
  
But what was the truth?   
  
His mind drifted back to another difficult moment, this time the burden on Snake Eyes' shoulders. Scarlett was in a coma. The doctors didn't know if she was going to recover. Snakes face was covered in bandages to hide the damage done by that crazy Doctor and COBRA at the so-called 'Bern Institute'.  
  
Snakes had been out of his mind with worry and anger. He had taken a swing at the doctor at the hospital and he and Lady Jaye had taken him outside to cool off. Then, to everyone's surprise, most of all his, he, Flint, the macho hard headed egomaniac, began to lecture the man on 'Not feeling sorry for yourself and taking out your hurt on other people'.   
  
Too bad he couldn't, what was it Lady Jaye had told him...'practice what he preached'. He had done precisely what he had warned the silent ninja NOT to do.   
  
"There are very few people as strong as Snakes. I thought I was...but I'm just a bloody fool in uniform."  
  
Of course, Lady Jaye had meant something entirely different when she said those words. The scene came back to him clearly.  
  
"You have to go on with your life. That's what Scarlett would want you to do. You have to be thankful for the time you had together and not mope over your regrets, all those 'should have dones' like telling her how much you loved her..."  
  
Snakes had taken him by the shoulders and swung him around to face Jaye. She smiled...understanding instantly the meaning behind the gesture. He hadn't got it until later, when they were alone at the base eating dinner.  
  
Jaye wasn't in the mood to talk to anyone, as she was worried about Shana. They had found a quiet corner and began to eat in silence, when he suddenly started to think of how he would feel if it was Alison in that hospital bed. If it was him that was sitting by her side, hoping that she would wake up, knowing full well that the chances were slim.  
  
Suddenly, Snake Eyes' actions made sense. He looked up from his meal and took her hand. Her eyes met his and looked at him questioningly. He gathered his courage and spoke...  
  
"Ummm...Ali. You know how I feel about you, don't you?"  
  
She smiled at him, amused by his anxiety over the subject, "I know, Dash. Its just nice to hear sometimes."  
  
"I love you."  
  
Her eyes brightened and she leaned forward to kiss him.  
  
"I love you too..."  
  
"So many years ago...given what had happened it might well have occurred in another lifetime." He thought as he reached out through the dark and gently touched her face. She stirred in her sleep and he quickly pulled away.  
  
He felt his anger growing.   
  
"Don't be a fool!" he berated himself aloud.   
  
He had to get his mind off this track. He could not afford to go soft now. He could not afford to let things get 'personal' again. He was on a mission, and this time there were going to be no mistakes. This time he was going to get everyone out alive.  
  
This time he would show no weakness.  
  
************************************************************************  
  
"My god, what a mess!" Shipwreck said softly as he stared up at the burnt out hulk of what used to be a helicopter, "I hate to state the obvious guys..."  
  
Scarlett had sat down on a nearby stump, in shock. She knew what the sailor was trying to say. No one could possibly survive this. She put her head in her hands and tried to hold back the tears.  
  
It had taken them a day to get down here, and then another day and a half to find the crash site. They had kept each others hopes alive...talking about their missing friends, stories about their missions together, amusing tales about how the two of them used to interact on missions. They even went over what they were going to do as a group when they finally found them and got back to civilization.  
  
Now grim reality was staring them in the face. Their friends were gone.  
  
She felt a hand on her shoulder and turned to see her husband standing over her.  
  
"At least they died together," he signed, "Despite all that happened I don't think either of them could have handled the loss if it had been just one."  
  
Shipwreck was watching them. His face was a study of grief.  
  
"That doesn't make it any easier on us, now does it. The people they left behind," he put his head in his hands, "God, he was my friend. She was like a sister to me..."  
  
In their misery they had failed to notice Spirit, who had been quietly walking the perimeter of the area.   
  
"Ah, Brother...smart...very smart." They heard him mumble.  
  
He turned and walked towards them.   
  
"Save your grief, they are alive. Although not for long if we don't move quickly."  
  
"What do you mean? Take a look at what is right in front of your eyes..." Shipwreck exclaimed, pointing at the twisted metal.  
  
"I am looking at what is in front of MY eyes...which are trained to see things more subtle than what might be obvious to you. I have trained Flint to see the same." He turned and made his way toward the perimeter.  
  
"Here..." he indicated to a tree and then to the ground, "and here. Flint has left a subtle message...one that only someone similarly skilled would be able to read. He is alive and she is with him. Chances are if we took the time to look closely enough at the wreck we will find the remnants of the grenade he used to blow up the aircraft."  
  
"Is this some kind of Native magic? How..." Shipwreck asked, and Spirit laughed and picked something up off the ground.  
  
"Not magic...observation." He threw the object at him...a grenade pin.  
  
Snake Eyes shook his head in admiration.  
  
"Lets go then. I can track them easily and we have got to catch up with them soon." He indicated to the ground around his feet, the tracker seeing things invisible to the untrained eye, "From the looks of it they have got a substantial force of Vipers on their trail as well."  
  
************************************************************************  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	6. Captured

"You have GOT to be kidding me!"   
  
Lady Jaye stood staring at the things in Flint's hand.   
  
"Unless you have a better idea..." He held up one of the wriggling forms.  
  
"No way! I would rather starve."  
  
"And that's exactly what is going to happen if you don't eat something. We can't keep this up for much longer without some form of nutrition." He was right, they had slowed down considerably since they first began their trek into the jungle, and although the change of pace was partly due to injury, the fact that they had pretty much not eaten for four days was beginning to take its toll.  
  
They were making more frequent stops to rest, and her knee was really starting to hurt her. In fact, she found herself a walking stick to help get some of the weight off her injured leg. Flint's shoulder was responding well to her ministrations, but she was running low on antibiotics and hoped that what she had given him would be enough until they hit civilization.  
  
He had been pretty good about letting her see to his wound after the initial cleaning. She still couldn't get over what had been done to him. Her heart broke every time she saw the evidence of the pain COBRA must have inflicted on him. Combined with the terrible loss of his entire troop, its no wonder he went over the edge.   
  
He hadn't told her much more about his experience, just bits of commentary about the different members of his team...remembrances of friends and colleagues lost. She would sit quietly, offering no words. She knew instinctively that what he needed was just someone to listen. That he needed her.  
  
He was most docile and open at these times when she gently tended to the damage done by the stray bullet. It was a bit like old times, minus Flint's braggart sense of humor.   
  
The minute she was through, he would shut her out and the walls would go back up. She was as confused by his behavior as she was hurt by it. It was as if she had been thrown back to those first days after his return from Borneo, wondering what she had done to deserve such disdain.  
  
But she was not the same woman she was then.   
  
"What does not kill you makes you stronger." She thought to herself.   
  
Her confidence around him had grown, and yet she was still wary. The last thing she needed was to have her heart raked across the coals again. She had built her life back up. She had just recently found someone else. An old friend who had been there at her lowest point and had patiently helped her out of it.  
  
Yet here she was in the middle of nowhere with a man who has obvious issues. A man, as she was discovering, had been hurt more than anyone had realized. A man who was as unpredictable as a wounded animal. A man who had already hurt her more profoundly than she could ever have imagined.  
  
And all she could think about was how much she had missed him.  
  
"I think I just became a vegetarian." She covered her mouth in disgust at the thought of eating grubs. They had had very little luck fishing, mainly because they didn't have the time to sit and wait for a bite, and hunting was out of the question. They had to preserve what little ammunition they had.  
  
Flint frowned. "Come on Jaye, its not like you have never eaten raw food before..."  
  
"Ok...'A', it was raw...not ALIVE and 'B', as I have been telling you for years...Sushi is a delicacy." As much as Flint liked to consider himself 'worldly', when it came to food he was all 'meat and potatoes Kansas farm boy'.   
  
"I'm sure this is considered a delicacy in some parts..."   
  
"You first, then, my epicurean friend."  
  
He looked down at the larvae in his hands, considering them for a few moments before sighing and dumping them back onto the ground. The look on his face caused her to burst out laughing. She couldn't help herself.   
  
"I'm glad you find our situation so amusing."  
  
"I...I..." She tried to catch her breath, "I'm sorry, Flint...Its just the...Hahahaha." All the stress of the past few weeks came out in a fit of laughter. He looked up and stared at her in utter amazement and confusion...which of course made things worse. She laughed so hard she nearly fell over, dropping her pack and scattering the contents on the ground in the process.  
  
She looked up at him tears in her eyes from all the giggling and found him smiling, eyes bright and clear. It stunned her. So much so that she stopped laughing and just stared back at him. She couldn't remember the last time she had seen him look at her that way.   
  
"God, Jaye...you are a real piece of work, you know that..." He bent to help her pick up her stuff. "...only you could see the humor in this..." He froze mid-sentence. As quickly as the smile had come it was gone.  
  
"Did you hear something?"  
  
To her right, she heard a twig snap. Flint was alert in an instant.  
  
"GET DOWN!"   
  
She hit the dirt just as the bullets started to fly overhead. Flint had taken cover behind a tree.  
  
"GET OVER HERE, I'LL COVER YOU!!!" He shouted as he brought his shotgun to bear on their enemy. She stayed low and ran towards him, reaching him winded but unscathed.  
  
"How many?" she asked as she scanned the perimeter.   
  
"More than we can handle..." he swore under his breath as he reloaded the shotgun. "We don't have enough ammo."  
  
She pulled out her Desert Eagle. "Then we had better make every shot count!"   
  
Turning to take aim, she let go two rounds, both of which hit their marks...but as soon as the troopers went down two more came to take their place. She then grabbed a grenade off Flint's belt, pulled the pin and let it fly. The explosion sent bodies flying in all directions.  
  
"Subtle!" Flint shouted over the sound of gunfire.  
  
"Look who's talking!" she smirked as he blew away two more COBRA troopers before stopping to reload. A bullet ricocheted off the tree inches from her head. "Flint! They're moving!!!"  
  
"They are trying to surround us!! We have to fall back to the water so they can't get behind us!! Stick by me!!!" He pumped his shotgun and gestured for her to get beside him.  
  
"GO! GO! GO!" She leaned into him as they ran side by side, guns blazing before diving behind a large moss covered log. She landed on her bad knee and bit back a cry as pain shot up through her leg. Flint was busy pulling out the last of their grenades and didn't notice.  
  
Suddenly, the woods went silent.   
  
"So...what are the chances we scared them off?" she peered around the edge of her shelter to spy a familiar figure standing in the distance with a bullhorn raised to his mouth.  
  
Zartan.  
  
"JOES! WE HAVE YOU SURROUNDED! THROW DOWN YOUR WEAPONS AND SURRENDER!"  
  
Flint frowned, "There's your answer....now lets give them ours!", with that he pulled the pin and launched his grenade into the area where the enemy was most concentrated.  
  
"LETS GO!" He yelled as she forced herself up and running, ever step agony. Side by side they made a mad dash for the river under the cover of the confusion caused by the explosion. She looked towards the water and swore, grabbing Flint by the arm and pulled with all her strength, yanking him down onto the ground beside her.  
  
"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING!" He glared at her, "We were home free!"  
  
"You're welcome!" She glared right back, angrily indicating that he take a look at the river. Four Water Moccasins were sitting idle in the water, guns trained on the shore. They would have hurled headlong into it.  
  
"Damn it!!"  
  
"NICE TRY, JOES! AS YOU CAN SEE I HOLD ALL THE CARDS! SURRENDER OR I WILL ORDER COPPERHEAD TO OPEN FIRE! YOU HAVE 5 MINUTES. STARTING NOW!"  
  
"Flint...now would be great time for one of your foolproof plans." She looked over to find him sitting completely still, staring out towards the river.  
  
"Flint? Did you hear me? What do we do?" He looked up at her, his eyes haunted.  
  
"Have you asked yourself why they haven't just killed us? Why they are giving us the option to surrender?"  
  
She looked at him blankly.  
  
"Think!" he sneered, "They want us alive because they want information. They want to know what we know. How many of us are down here...what Hawk has planned."   
  
"I...I don't think..." she was getting concerned. He was probably right, but as she studied her old friend she realized that something was very wrong with him. Before she could voice her thoughts on the situation, he grabbed her arm.  
  
"I have to get you out of here."   
  
"Let go!" She pulled out of his grip, "Flint...get a hold of yourself. Where are we going to go? We are between the proverbial rock and hard place."  
  
"DAMN IT, ALI...We either get the hell out of here or die trying. There is no other choice"   
  
"There is another option...we are almost out of ammo and I don't know how far I would get if we ran..." she gestured to her leg, "At least it will give us a chance to recoup and escape later..."  
  
He had gone pale and his temper was flaring. She looked into his eyes...was that...fear?  
  
"NO!"   
  
"Oh my god..." she thought to herself, as she suddenly realized what was happening. Flint was back in Borneo!  
  
"YOUR TIME IS RUNNING OUT, JOES!"  
  
"No weakness..." he mumbled as he pumped his shotgun.  
  
"Flint....Dash...listen to me." She put her hand on the barrel of his shotgun and gently pushed it down, "This isn't Borneo..."  
  
"No...its not...and its not going to be!" he whispered.  
  
He looked at her then, and as she watched she saw his face harden, a look she remembered all to well.  
  
"Flint! NO!"  
  
"Stay low and make a break for it once the fighting starts..." He crouched low, getting ready to charge.  
  
Her breath clenched in her throat. She grabbed his arm in a feeble attempt to hold him back. "Don't be an idiot Flint, we are in this together..."  
  
He turned to dislodge her hand..."They are not going to get at you, Jaye. Not while there is still breath left in my body..."  
  
"What are you talkin...." Too late, he was off, guns blazing. One man against an army...  
  
"Shit, Shit, Shit!!!!" she mumbled to herself as she grabbed her gun and went to follow him in. No way was he going to get himself killed without her.   
  
She moved as quickly as she could, following him through the hostile fire, fear and adrenaline masking the pain. She leaned against a tree and loaded the last clip into her weapon. Right on time, too...for as she watched a Cobra Trooper was taking aim at Flint's head. He was so busy blasting away at the troops in front of him that he hadn't noticed the lone man sneaking up behind him. She dropped him with one shot.  
  
He turned and realized what had happened.  
  
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING? I GAVE YOU AN ORDER!"  
  
"So! Court Marshall me! LOOK OUT!" He swung around just in time to stop another COBRA soldier dead in his tracks. Suddenly, there was an explosion behind them on the river and they turned to see three of the Water Moccasins go up in a pillar of fire and smoke.  
  
"What the...?" she saw movement in the tree's above and grinned wildly as she recognized a familiar figure.  
  
"Snake Eyes! What took you so long?"  
  
She turned and with renewed energy and hope began blasting her way through the COBRA forces. To her side she noticed Scarlett and Spirit making their way towards Flint to give him some much needed backup.  
  
"Fall back to the river!!!" she heard Shipwreck's voice and turned to see that he had secured the remaining the COBRA watercraft and was waiting to get them the hell out of there. She smiled and began to make her way towards her friends, when a voice spoke up from behind her.  
  
"I don't think so, little 'Sheila'!" She whipped her gun around and came face to face with an old enemy. Ripper. She fired.  
  
Click.  
  
He laughed and she took a step back, wincing as her weight settled on her bad leg.  
  
"Poor wee thing...out of ammo and injured. Let's see what I can do to help." The Dreadnock kicked her in the knee and waves of pain and nausea threatened to overwhelm her as she fell to the ground. It was a struggle to remain conscious.  
  
Slowly, she went to pull out her knife in a last ditch effort to defend herself.  
  
"Ah ah ah! Didn't your mother tell you never to play with knives. He grabbed her wrist and twisted hard, wrestling the weapon easily out of her grip. He took it and slowly ran the flat of the blade across her face.  
  
"So beautiful...too beautiful...Maybe I should make some changes..."   
  
Despite her fear, she found enough anger in her to spit in his face. His expression changed instantly to one of sheer rage.  
  
"RIPPER! Stop playing with her and get moving. Cobra Commander wanted prisoners and thanks to you we got him at least one." Zartan's voice boomed from behind him, "Try not to kill her before we get back to base."  
  
He got up and raised his gun.  
  
"I'll remember that, bitch. Once the big C is finished with you, I will have my fun."  
  
She saw the butt of his gun falling towards her...then darkness.  
  
************************************************************************  
  
"DUKE! Water Moccasin heading towards us, moving fast!" Roadblock shouted down from his position in the tower.  
  
Duke looked up from the maps and looked out over the river. Sure enough, in the distance he could make out the shape skimming across the water. He swore under his breath. How could COBRA have found out where their base was located so quickly? And why send only one boat to...  
  
"Pass me those binoculars Gung Ho." He looked out and saw a familiar figure at the helm.   
  
"Hold your fire! It's the good guys!"  
  
As he made his way down to the shore, Duke prayed that they had succeeded in the mission that they had set out to do. They had lost radio contact two days ago and were beginning to get worried, as early reconnaissance had shown substantial movement of COBRA forces in the area.  
  
He reached the makeshift dock just in time to see Shipwreck and Spirit carrying an unconscious Flint from the vessel.  
  
"LIFELINE, GET DOWN HERE STAT!"  
  
"He's fine." He turned to find Scarlett standing next to him. She looked exhausted. "Snake Eyes had to knock him out so that we could extract him."  
  
His eyes narrowed as he studied her. They had to knock him out...why would they have to...? Oh my god...  
  
"Where's Lady Jaye?"  
  
She looked away.   
  
"Would someone tell me what the hell happened out there?!"  
  
Having handed the big Warrant Officer to Lifeline and his medical team, Spirit made his way over to the group and spoke "We found them both...alive. They were surrounded by COBRA troops and were making their last stand..."  
  
Shipwreck cut in "They were pretty far gone if you ask me...but leave it to this one to lead the charge." He pointed to Flint. We backed them up as best we could, but there wasn't much any of us could do. There were just too many of them."  
  
"We retreated, but Lady Jaye...she didn't make it. She ran into Ripper on her way out."  
  
"Is she alive?" He whispered.  
  
"As far as we could tell, yes..." Snake Eyes signed, "But we were unable to get to her. We had our hands full with COBRA and...and Flint"  
  
"What do you mean?" Duke eyed the Ninja warily, his eyes imploring him not to tell him what he feared happened had happened. Not now. They needed Flint. They couldn't afford to loss him to the madness that had gripped him that last year.  
  
"He went nuts, man!" Shipwreck exclaimed, "when he saw her go down it was all we could do to stop him from running right back into enemy fire and getting himself killed. It took three of us to hold him back before Snakes here knocked him out with the pommel of one of his Katanas."  
  
God...not again. I thought he was getting better. I thought he had learned to control his himself. Was it a mistake to bring him back?  
  
Suddenly, he heard a struggle break out behind him.  
  
"Sit still, Flint...I have to look at you before I...WHOA" Flint was up in a flash, grabbing Lifeline and throwing him to the ground.  
  
"GET YOUR HANDS OFF ME, YOU FILTHY SNAKE!!!!!!!!" Flint had drawn a knife.   
  
"RESTRAIN HIM!!!" Duke screamed, and in an instant Roadblock and Shipwreck were on him. Even in his weakened state, it was all they could do to keep him down.  
  
"LIFELINE!!!" Duke looked at the doctor, who was quickly preparing a syringe.  
  
"I'm on it..."  
  
"Hurry up, man...He's bloody strong!" Roadblock strained as Flint struggled to free himself.   
  
"YOU CAN'T HAVE HER...YOU CAN'T..." Lifeline injected him and within an instant he was down and out.  
  
"Holy...what did you give him?" Shipwreck asked as he gently lowered his friend to the ground.  
  
"Enough tranquilizer to bring down a large elephant." The medic smiled briefly before indicating to his medical team that they should bring him into the tent that had been put up as a field hospital.  
  
Duke sighed and rubbed his eyes in frustration. Spirit came up behind him.  
  
"He is not himself. He has gone on very little food and is injured and exhausted. It leaves him vulnerable to ghosts from the past. He will be better once he recovers."  
  
"I am glad you are so confident, Spirit." Duke looked at his best tracker and wondered again how the healer had managed to succeed with his old friend where so many others had failed. "But somehow I doubt it...not with Lady Jaye captured...or worse."  
  
God...let her be alive. If he looses her like this his oldest and best friend will never recover...will never be the same again. He looked at his men and frowned.  
  
None of them will.  
  
************************************************************************   
  
"You meant to tell me you have had him for three days and still nothing."   
  
"He is very strong, Destro. I have tried my best, but still he refuses to talk."  
  
Flint could make out the sounds of the conversation going on behind him, but was having trouble isolating the voices. He opened his eyes, or tried to. They were so swollen it hurt to even blink. Everything hurt...the pain was almost unbearable. It was a struggle to remain conscious, although he wondered why he even bothered to try. He longed for the peace of oblivion.  
  
"You are testing my patience, Flint." Destro stood directy in front of him, staring straight into his battered face. "For the last time, tell me what you know."  
  
His voice came out in a low wrasp, his throat raw from lack or water...and his screams.  
  
"Faireborn....Dashiel..."  
  
"Doctor...I trust you can remedy this situation?"  
  
"If I do much more I risk killing him, which is hardly productive. However, there might be another way." He turned to the guards, "Take him down!"  
  
After so much time strung up to the ceiling, the movement was sheer agony. He lost consciousness for a while and when he came to he found himself in another room, strapped to a chair. He felt something heavy against his head.  
  
"Ah...you're back! And just in time for me to introduce you to one of my old favorites..."  
  
Mindbender went and fiddled with some controls across the room.  
  
"I was having trouble perfecting the brain wave scanner...it was just too unpredictable, didn't always give me back real memories or thoughts...so I thought to myself, why throw the baby out with the bathwater? Why not use what I had to my advantage."  
  
"So to make a long story short, prepare yourself for a bumpy ride, my good man...because you are about to take a journey into your deepest, darkest fears. Live your own nightmares, so to speak."  
  
Flint struggled to free himself from the machine as he began to understand what awaited him.  
  
"Ah...I see you catch on quickly." He smiled as he threw one of the switches, "You are strong, Flint...but everyone has a weakness...a breaking point..."  
  
He threw another and a flash of pain shot through his head.  
  
"Let's find out what yours is, shall we?"  
  
"NOOOOO!" He struggled against his bonds as his mind went dark.  
  
"Flint. FLINT! Stop struggling. You're among friends. You are at GIJOE base 'Anaconda', you're safe."  
  
He opened his eyes and saw a familiar figure leaning over him. He struggled to bring his mind back to the present, to clear his head. Yes...he knew this person...it was Lifeline.  
  
"How...how long?"  
  
"Have you been out? About a day...maybe a bit more."  
  
Too long. He went to get up and realized he was tied down.  
  
"Let me go, Lifeline..." he growled, "I'm fine..."  
  
"No can do, Flint...sorry. You are to be restrained. Duke's orders."  
  
"Then go and get Duke...Now." He tried to remain calm, but inside his mind was going a mile a minute. The memories of what had happened out there came flooding back. He knew what he had to do.  
  
"Hold on, Jaye...I'm coming"  
  
****************************************************************************************************************  
  
Hawk sat at a makeshift desk in the command tent, going over the details of the upcoming raid. It wasn't going to be easy. He had called in as many Joes as he could find once he had realized the extent of the COBRA presence, but still he wondered if it would be enough.  
  
He could only hope it would be.   
  
As he turned his attention back to the map in front of him, he was distracted by the sounds of a commotion outside.  
  
"I really don't think this is a good idea. You need time to heal. You can't go waltzing back into the jungle..."  
  
"Watch me."  
  
The flap of the tent flew open and in came Flint, with Duke following close behind. They saluted and he returned it, observing his warrant officer carefully. He had cleaned himself up and put on a clean uniform, but he was obviously still far from better. Lifeline had his arm up in a sling and he looked exhausted.  
  
"What can I do for you?" He asked calmly, knowing full well what was going to come out of his mouth.  
  
"Permission to lead a rescue mission and get Lady Jaye out of there, Sir"  
  
He sighed.   
  
"I'm sorry, Flint. I can't spare anyone. We are stretched thin as it is..."  
  
"Then I can go it alone, sir. It is my specialty."  
  
"No way...you are hardly up for a solo mission right now...and to be perfectly honest I need you here."  
  
"I am asking you as a courtesy..." he growled. "If I have to I will do it alone. I am CIA now...no longer under your command."  
  
"What?"  
  
"Flint," Duke put his hand on his shoulder, "I know this is hard, but think about what you are saying."   
  
"No, Duke...let me handle this." Hawk walked straight up to Flint and treated him to one of his piercing gazes.   
  
"You know, I don't have the energy right now to deal with you. I brought you in on trust. I have given you another chance because you are the best at what you do. Because I know you deserve it. DON'T disappoint me."  
  
Flint looked away.  
  
"I see you have come to your senses. Go back to Lifeline and get some rest...I need you in top form very soon." Hawk watched Flint clench and unclench his fists...struggling to control himself.   
  
"She'll be OK, Flint. We will get her out of there as soon as we..."  
  
"No...she won't be ok. I need to get her out of there now!"  
  
"Flint...I'm warning you. You are very close to crossing the line."  
  
Suddenly, Flint tore his arm out of the sling and in one strong motion, ripped off his shirt. Hawk tensed at the odd display. Has he finally flipped? Then he saw his back.   
  
"My God..." Duke froze in shock where he stood, eyeing the ravaged skin across his friend's back.  
  
"This is what they do to their prisoners, sir. This...and worse."  
  
"I....I had no...Why didn't you tell me? This wasn't on your report..." But even before Flint could answer, Hawk knew.   
  
Pride...Shame...  
  
"They will do the same to her. They had the perfect chance to blow us both to kingdom come a couple of days ago and they didn't. They wanted one or both of us alive. They need information..."  
  
He finished his sentence. "They don't know what we are up to. They want to gain the upper hand...." So, Flint hadn't gone completely over the edge these past few days. He had misjudged him. They had all misjudged him...  
  
Flint nodded.  
  
"I know you think I have gone insane. There are times when I think that myself. But I am dead serious about this. I WILL NOT leave her behind. I will not have her go through what I went through." Flint paused and looked directly at him "I lost twelve of my men due to my...my...weakness. I will not loose her too."  
  
Hawk held his gaze, understanding for the first time the pain and fear behind them. Pain and fear he had masked with anger...then with booze. He felt responsible for the loss of his men. They hadn't died in battle. They were ambushed using information Flint, in his agony, had given them. He didn't care that it was beyond his control. He didn't care that it was not his fault.  
  
"I should have known. You were one of mine...I should have known!" Hawk thought to himself sadly. "I let you down, boy...I'm so sorry."  
  
He turned away and leaned into his desk. He felt his age weighing down on him for the first time since he began this mission. He was tired.   
  
He had lost men...he knew how it felt. But he couldn't begin to imagine the suffering this once happy, confident young man had gone through. They had broken him...and he had had the strength to claw his way out. On that alone he deserved this chance to redeem himself in his own eyes.  
  
"Take what you need, Flint. Supplies, ammo, anything..."  
  
Flint looked up, confused..."Sir?"  
  
"Get her out of there, Flint. Bring her home..."   
  
************************************************************************  



	7. Lost and Found

How long had she been down in this cold, damp cell?   
  
Days, probably...   
  
It felt more like weeks. No food, little water...no human contact. The only sounds the water dripping down the side of the wall, the scurrying of the mice and rats, the steady rasp of her own breathing.   
  
She had no idea where she was. She had seen no one since her initial encounter with Ripper. He had hit her pretty hard and she had spent a while drifting in and out of consciousness, too dizzy to move, to ill to care. A good thing too, because when she finally tried to get up she discovered that she could no longer support her weight. Her knee was completely useless.   
  
At first she had spent her time looking for ways to escape. No windows, one heavy steel door that was so tightly sealed that no light could be seen along its frame, a small drain on the floor that, from the smell of it, led to the sewers. The walls were solid concrete.   
  
She soon gave up. The only way out was through that door. When it opened, she could rush the guards and make her way out...   
  
"Yeah right...to where? You don't even know where you are." She had taken to talking to herself aloud to break the silence that surrounded her. "And how far are you going to get wounded and unarmed."   
  
They had stripped her of her of everything except for the clothes on her back.   
  
Time had no meaning for her. She didn't know whether it was day or night. She was weak from hunger and spent much of her time sleeping the dreamless sleep of the dead. When she was awake, she watched the door. Waiting.   
  
But no one came.   
  
Her mind started to drift. What was happening on the front? Did they know where she was? Do they know she is still alive? Were they coming for her?   
  
Was Flint coming for her?   
  
She laughed cruelly at herself. "Foolish girl, still dreaming that your knight in shinning armor is going to come rescue you. Haven't you learned that the only person you can count on is yourself? He is with Hawk now... doing his duty...fighting with the team. You are expendable...it's the mission that counts most."   
  
And yet she still imagined that he would come bursting through that door. Flint would never leave any of his men behind. Leave her behind...   
  
But he had. She was in a cell and he had escaped. At least she hoped he had.   
  
Her heart ached at the thought of him lying dead in the jungle somewhere. It tore at her. Why did he still have a hold on her?   
  
An unfamiliar sound broke her reverie. The door...it was opening...   
  
She squinted in pain as light from the doorway flooded her senses. She has been confined in complete darkness for so long that she was beginning to fear that her eyes would never readjust.   
  
Now or never!   
  
She rushed forward blindly in a suicidal effort to escape, only to be caught in he iron grip of her enemy.   
  
"Well, well, well...aren't we the little spitfire?" a voice mocked to her right. Her eyes were beginning to focus again, and she could just make out the figure.   
  
"You have no idea, Thrasher." she smiled menacingly as she elbowed her captor in the groin and went to grab his weapon.   
  
"BLOODY BITCH!" Ripper screamed in pain...   
  
"You never could handle a woman, Rip." Torch laughed, "Here, let me show you..." He grabbed her around the neck and squeezed until she was no longer able to get air into her lungs. Spots appeared before her eyes and she felt herself falling backwards into the Dreadnok.   
  
"There...you see...they all fall into my arms eventually." He loosened his grip and grabbed her arms to keep her from falling.   
  
"STOP FOOLING AROUND DOWN THERE AND BRING HER..." Zartan's bellowed...   
  
"Oi! He's no fun these days..." Thrasher shook his head, "Come on..."   
  
"Ah well, my lovely, looks like I won't have any fun after all...Too bad, you are quite the kitten. Maybe when the boss is through..."   
  
"Don't be an idiot, Thrasher! When the boss is through, there won't be much left to play with."   
  
************************************************************************   
Destro sat patiently in the command room, waiting for Cobra Commander to finish with his latest temper tantrum. The man was an idiot...brilliantly evil...but an idiot nonetheless.   
  
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN THE JOESSSSS ARE DOWN HERE! I THOUGHT THEY HAD DISBANDED!"   
  
"Well it seems they have come out of retirement..." Xamot stated matter of factly, stopping to let his brother continue.   
  
"...and are presently knocking on our back door." Tomax yawned and sipped his tea.   
  
"Destro, I thought you said that this Andean fortress was the perfect place to hide our army...completely hidden and undetectable were your exact words if I remember correctly." The hooded figure turned to glare at him.   
  
"And you will also recall that I warned you that dabbling in the drug trade down here would attract unwanted attention. Stamping your product with the COBRA was a particularly brilliant move on your part..." He was interrupted before he could finish.   
  
"If you had given me credit at MARS I would NOT HAVE NEEDED that little venture to finance this operation in the first place!!!!!"   
  
He sighed. The baroness had warned him not to get involved with this man again. Do it on your own, she had said...you don't need him. True...but the time was not yet right.   
  
"This arguing is useless. The fortress has served its purpose. You have your army. You are ready. The Joes are ill prepared to deal with what we are going to throw at them. We have the advantage."   
  
"Why is it every time you say that, I get nervousssss...How many times have I had the 'advantage' and been routed nonetheless?"   
  
"He has..." Tomax looked up from the paper.   
  
"...A point. Only a fool underestimates his enemy. Especially when Hawk is involved." His brother finished his thought.   
  
A knock at the door caused him to turn his attention away from the conversation. Zartan walked in and nodded. He nodded back.   
  
"...and how the hell are we supposed to find out what they are up to. Has anyone thought to send out some vipers on recon?"   
  
"Actually, Commander...I have something even better...Zartan?" The shape-shifter turned and signaled to someone waiting just outside. Thrasher and Torch came forward, dragging a struggling woman between them. They let go and she fell to the floor.   
  
"Ahhhh...Lady Jaye. So good of you to join us." She turned at the sound of his voice, and gave him a look of such hatred and revulsion that a lesser man might have cringed. He merely smiled back.   
  
"Still playing soldier? I see retirement hasn't dulled your edge..."   
  
She stayed silent, still staring at him. If looks were daggers...it was beginning to unnerve him.   
  
"What is this?" Cobra Commander turned to look at the figure on the ground before him.   
  
"I took the liberty of ordering Zartan to take some men out to capture their scouts. Unfortunately, one of them got away...we are not sure who it was, but this little one will certainly prove very useful."   
  
"I see...yes...very good." He said casually, distractedly, "Have Mindbender ready the chamber. I hope this one proves more malleable than your last victim. We don't have much time..."   
  
He knew the victim to which he was referring.   
  
He walked over to her, grabbed her by the hair and yanked her up so that her face was inches from his.   
  
"Not to worry...this one will bend to our will quickly enough...won't you my dear?" He smirked as he saw the fear alight in her eyes.   
  
"Yes...you know what is in store, don't you? I take it you know what we did to your lover, hmmm? Don't be so surprised, Lady Jaye...I know quite a bit about what goes down among your people. You are not the only ones with 'intelligence'".   
  
"Whatever happened to him? Did he manage to kill himself yet? I wonder what gutter he is lying in now..." Her eyes shifted slightly, catching his attention. Something he had said had registered. What was she hiding? We will find out soon enough...probably still sore from whatever had gone down when Flint 'returned' from his time in their 'care'. He narrowed his eyes and decided to dig the knife deeper.   
  
"Left you, didn't he? You are better off without him. Arrogant, foolish, temperamental. Didn't your mother warn you about men like him?"   
  
"No..." she rasped "She warned me about men like you."   
  
"Ah...yes. Of course...ever the villain...", he looked at her then, studying her. She was quite the beauty...not his type mind you, but lovely nonetheless. He would ask the Doctor to spare her face.   
  
"He was strong, it took a long time to find his weakness, but we did...we broke him." He laughed and grabbed her arm as she took a swing at his face.   
  
"Ha...I see I am hitting a nerve. We will see how hard you fight back once the Doctor is through with you." So, she still cares for that ass...a pity, he thought she would have more sense than that. He looked up and signaled for Zartan to take her away. As his men moved forward to claim her, he decided to give the knife a final twist before sending her off.   
  
"Do you want to know what finally broke him? What caused him to betray his men?" Her eyes darkened as he leaned in closer and whispered in her ear.   
  
"You did."   
  
************************************************************************   
  
"Four guards at the entrance. Two in the trees to my left...another two to my right." Flint lowered the binoculars and crouched down into the underbrush. "Difficult. But not impossible."   
  
The figure behind him shifted slightly. "I sense the same. Eight men...ones to the right seem distracted."   
  
Flint nodded. There was a time when he would have blown off any of Spirits native-magic mumbo jumbo... but not anymore. He had seen too much, experienced too much...learned too much during his year with the shaman. His black and white outlook was shaded gray by the things he had seen.   
  
"There are more things in heaven and earth than are dreamt of in your philosophy, " he thought, paraphrasing Hamlet as some of his Oxford education seeped through. He brought out his gun and began to attach the silencer.   
  
He had meant to go this alone. Not only because he didn't want to take much needed resources away from Duke, but because he knew this rescue was a personal mission for him, and the odds were he wasn't going to make it out alive. He wouldn't ask anyone to risk his life on this.   
  
And to be perfectly honest, he was worried about how he was going to handle it. He was fighting an inner battle over his own fears and emotions, and he didn't know how long he could hold himself together. Seeing Ripper take out Jaye had opened the floodgates, causing him to completely lost control...worse than ever before. The drug Lifeline had administered allowed him to rest and get hold of himself somewhat, but last thing he needed right now was the added responsibility of watching over a team. The added worry of losing more of his men.   
  
Spirit, however, had 'insisted', showing up ready to go just as Flint was about to board the Water Moccasin and head back up the river.   
  
"Look...I know what you are going to say, but I need to do this alone..." Flint began, but before the words were out of his mouth he knew that it was an exercise in futility. He had fought him once before, when he was about ready to through his life away on booze and self-loathing, but the Shaman's patience persistence had prevailed in the end.   
  
"Yes, you do...but you might need backup at some point, brother...of the type only I can provide." Spirit raised his arm and Flint felt a familiar wind brush against his skin as Freedom came in close, alighting gracefully on the Indian's arm.   
  
The eagle's powerful, piercing gaze always catches Flint off guard, and this time is no exception. It is like the large bird is looking right through you, prying into your soul...judging your worthiness. Even knowing what Freedom really is doesn't prepare you for the experience.   
  
He met Freedom's gaze as best he could, bowing his head in respect before turning to Spirit and sighing.   
  
"Come on then...lets get out of here before Hawk changes his mind..."   
  
They had traveled up river to the area where they had confronted COBRA two days before. The trail had been easy to follow, and they had managed to track their quarry all the way to their own back door where they now sat, waiting for the opportunity to go in. An opportunity that had finally presented itself in the form of two overtired Vipers.   
  
Flint looked up from his position in the foliage to see Freedom circling overhead before turning to signal Spirit that he was ready to take out their targets. He crouched low, moving through the cover like a cat stalking his prey...focused totally on the victims ahead. Slowly, carefully, he brought his weapon to bear.   
  
Shhhrrrrrrppppt.   
  
The bullet made hardly a sound as it tore through the air and into the Vipers head. He fell, and before his companion could react, Flint had taken aim and fired his second round. The man dropped, the look of fear frozen on his face for all eternity.   
  
He saw Spirit moving forward and joined him, grabbing one of the bodies to drag it out of sight.   
  
"Looks like about my size..." he thought.   
  
As he changed into the COBRA uniform, he began to plan what their next course of action should be.   
  
"Once inside, we are going to have to work quickly. These uniforms are only going to fool them for so long. And once we find her, we are going to have a fight on our hands getting her out...Are you listening? Here, get into this uniform..."   
  
Spirit sat patiently, legs crossed, watching the skies.   
  
"You are going in alone. I can help you best out here..."   
  
"Look...you wanted in. I am in command here. This operation is my baby." He felt his anger flaring. He was running out of time. Jaye was running out of time.   
  
"Trust me, Brother. Have I let you down before?"   
  
"I cannot risk..." Flint paused and collected himself. He remembered the fire, the pipe, the smoke, the drums, the chanting...   
  
He looked down at Spirit, not quite understanding what he was going to do, but unwilling to question the man on matters such as this. He sighed and shook his head...   
  
"Watch my back..."   
  
"That is the idea." Spirit smiled and held out his hand, which Flint took in his, "Good luck Brother."   
  
With that, he donned the Viper's helmet and made his way down to the gate. The Guards at the door looked up as he approached but when they saw the uniform merely nodded and went back to their vigil.   
  
He passed though the large doorway easily, and into the cavernous corridor filled with COBRA soldiers going about their business. He took a deep breath and walked with purpose through the throng, hoping no one would ask him his business. But where was he going? He had no idea where Jaye was holed up...and if she was still alive...   
  
He quashed that thought quickly. No. She was still alive. She had to be.   
  
Suddenly, he saw a flash of red among the rabble. Crimson Guards, and they were heading down a corridor to the far right. Chances are they would lead him right to the command center. There he would be able to get his bearings.   
  
He cut down the hall, following far enough behind as to not be too conspicuous, when suddenly he heard a voice behind him.   
  
"You there, Viper!" he turned to see himself being addressed by another Crimson Guard who was coming up behind him.   
  
"Where are you heading. You are not authorized to be in this area." The guard was practically on top of him. His finger went to the trigger of his gun reflexively before he calmed himself and gathered his wits. He had orchestrated so many of these rescue missions, all successful. This was his element. He knew what to do.   
  
"I have orders to relieve the one of the guards on Dr. Mindbender's lab. I thought I was heading in the right direction."   
  
The COBRA soldier paused to consider him for a moment, Flint felt the sweat beading down his forehead. Come on, come on...   
  
"You are. Second corridor to your left and down to the end of the hall." Flint saluted and turned to go, but was stopped in his tracks by a hand grasping his arm. He tensed.   
  
"And Viper...next time take the long way. I am sick of you guys taking a shortcut through this area. The next one of you I see traipsing through here is going to have to answer to me. Understand." He growled menacingly.   
  
Flint fought down the urge to smash the man's face to a pulp and to look suitably cowed and fearful. This apparently satisfied the Guard as he soon let go and walked off to join the others.   
  
"Glad to see you haven't lost your touch..." He thought to himself as he followed the directions indicated. The corridor went down quite a ways before opening up into a large chamber.   
  
He froze.   
  
Ahead of him, hanging limply from chains attached to the ceiling, blood dripping from her mouth, was Lady Jaye.   
  
Rage surged within him as he struggled against the tidal wave of emotion that threatened to overwhelm his mind. Images began to flash before him, false memories of Jaye lying dead in his arms. Memories planted there by Mindbender and his monstrous machine. A mind probe that worked so well that he might very well have lived the scenes that it had planted deep in his brain. The sounds, the smells, the sights...her blood on his hands...all so real....so very real.   
  
And now it was happening again, now there was no waking up. This WAS real. He had to get her out before they killed her. His torturous nightmares were becoming one with reality. He surged forward only to be stopped in his tracks by a voice in his head.   
"No Brother...not now. It is not the time. There are too many of them."   
Flint felt the healer's presence in his head and fought to block it out. But Spirit was too strong.   
"You must regain control, Flint. I cannot help you if you try and block me. Remember what I taught you. Fight the fear, fight the anger. You *walk with the Cougar*. Such a totem is very powerful, it suggests great strength...but it must also tempered with patience and respect. I have taught you what I can. It is up to you now."   
He breathed in deeply and attempted to focus, to regain control. It took a supreme effort but soon he was able to push his demons to the back of his mind and focus again on the task at hand.   
"Good, Brother, good...now be patient. I sense things afoot out here. You're opening will come soon enough. I will be waiting to guide you out." There was a pause "And remember what was told to you in the fire...Sometimes your weakness can be your greatest strength."   
Flint nodded, not quite understanding the meaning behind the words but signaling his willingness to trust his friend. He didn't know how to communicate this back to Spirit, but knew somehow that the Shaman felt his consent.   
He looked up to see the two guards watching him warily. Spirit was right, now was not the time. He tore his gaze away from Jaye's unconscious form and tried to concentrate on the task at hand.   
"Hang in there, beautiful..." he thought as he approached the Viper to the left, hoping that in some way his words would reach her "I'll have you out of here before you know it. I won't let them hurt you."   
But from the looks of it they already had,   
"Which one of you called up for a replacement?" He asked with as much authority as he could muster.   
"I didn't, did you?" the Viper he stood facing looked up at his fellow guard, who shook his head no.   
"Jeez, they must have sent me to the wrong place. They are so disorganized." He tried to sound convincingly frustrated, acting was never his forte, "Look...I don't feel like making my way back to find out where I am supposed to be. How's about one of you take a break."   
The one to the right was staring at him suspiciously. He slowly brought his finger closer to the trigger of his weapon.   
"Sounds good to me." The guard he had approached swung his rifle back over his shoulder and nodded his head towards the room, "I can't take much more of this anyhow." He shuddered and continued. "I hate this place...and...jeez...a woman. I just don't know how you do it Earl. I am going to have nightmares for weeks."   
His companion shrugged "She's the enemy, Fred. Woman or no...they deserve nothing less." Flint's eyes narrowed as he tried to stop his fist from flying up into 'Earl's' face.   
"Yeah...well. I still don't like it." He patted Flint on the shoulder as he walked by. "Have fun, buddy. I owe you one."   
Flint took up his position, and immediately began to plan his next move. There were too many people milling about around the lab. He was going to have to find an opening, a time when it was most quiet...his thoughts were interrupted by a familiar voice. His body tensed reflexively at the sound.   
"I tell you, Destro, she knows nothing." The masked man came striding down the hall surrounded by his personal guard, Mindbender close on his heels. "I have tried what I can. She is very weak from whatever she went through before capture. I risk killing her if I give the machine any more power."   
They passed him by with barely a glance, intent on their conversation.   
"Doctor, I told you from the beginning that she was expendable." He approached Lady Jaye and gently stoked her cheek with his hand. "Incredible...hardly a mark on her...that pain inducing gadget of yours seems to be working well."   
"Yes...I am quite happy with it. She will probably have some bruising...and who knows what it has done to her state of mind." Flint felt rage building within him, but quickly quashed it down and continued to observe the goings on in the room. He didn't know how much longer he could remain in control.   
Destro studied her face closely and sighed "It would be a shame to loose her, but unfortunately our illustrious leader needs whatever information she can provide."   
"I don't know why he didn't use his scouts instead of relying on..."   
"Scouts can only provide so much...this young lady might very well have something in her head that might give us the upper hand.   
Mindbender turned and walked towards the controls. "Had our last long term guest not destroyed the brainwave scanner I might have been able to pull it out of her by now. However, as I said, I really don't think she has much to offer."   
"That remains to be seen. You there, " he indicated to two of his men, "Take her down from there and bring her back to her cell." They leapt forward at his command. Flint heard her moan in pain as they removed the chains that held her up. She fell limply into their arms.   
"Let her sit in the cold and dark for a little while." He said as the two men disappeared down another corridor with their charge, "It might break her...if not we can begin again in the morning. You and I have other work to do. The Joes are on the move...it would do well if we are ready for them when they arrive."   
They turned and began to make their way towards the door. As they passed, Destro stopped and turned to him. Flint held his breath as the big man studied him intently. Hatred burned in the back of his mind, thoughts of revenge teased his senses.   
"Your uniform is a disgrace, man. If I see you again like this you will regret it."   
He could blow them both away right here, kill them both and then do as much damage to the guards as he could before inevitably going down himself. These men are the ones responsible for what had happened to him. To his men. To his friends. To his life...   
"The prisoner is secured sir," his thoughts were interrupted by the soldiers returning from the dungeons, "She is in bad shape, sir. I was wondering if we would get her some water or..."   
The mention of her was enough to stop his suicidal plan in its tracks. He had someone else's well-being to think about now. He would deal with these two later.   
"What do you think this is, the Ritz!" Destro fumed. "I will not tolerate weakness in my own guard. You!" he pointed to Flint, "take your companion and go and guard the prisoner. I trust you are strong enough to keep your 'compassion' at bay."   
"Yes sir." The Viper next to him answered enthusiastically. Flint merely nodded. Satisfied, the two COBRA leaders walked off.   
"Come on then, lets get going." Flint turned to follow the Viper down into the far corridor. Patiently he waited as they walked down a long flight of stairs into the depths of the fortress, marking the route mentally as he wound his way to the cell.   
The guard was busy telling him of the highlights of Lady Jaye's session with Mindbender as they made their way down. Flint's mind was red with fury, so much so that when they finally reached their destination he was about ready to kill something.   
Before the man could even react, Flint was on him. He pummeled him from behind, smashing his face so hard his helmet flew across the room. Blood ran from the ruins of his nose, as Flint jabbed him in the stomach then again in the face, spinning him around. The beaten guard made a last ditch attempt to reach for his gun, but Flint was too quick...and too enraged. He kicked the Viper's knee out from under him and went in for the kill. Grabbing him around the neck from behind, he twisted quickly, snapping it.   
His mind still overwhelmed with anger, he grabbed the keys off the body and unlocked the door. He swung it open and there, lying in the center of the room, was Jaye.   
She did not notice him at first, as she was rolled up in the fetal position and shivering madly so he took a step forward and extended his hand towards her. His sudden movement caused her to look up, and she immediately cringed in fear and began to madly pull herself away from him. The look in her eyes tore at his heart. She was afraid of him.   
He tore off his helmet.   
"Jaye...sweetheart. It's me. Don't be afraid." The frenzy that had taken him over outside was abating quickly. Jaye kept staring at him, her eyes unsure. His heart cried out to her.   
"Ali...please...I'm here. You're safe now. I won't let them hurt you again." He tried again to reach out and touch her. This time she didn't move. His hand met her face, caressing it softly as she sat frozen like a deer caught in the hunter's light.   
"D...Dash?" she whispered, "Flint..." She began to move towards him, struggling, but before she could get far he had rushed forward and gathered her into his arms. She nestled into him shaking like a leaf, crying.   
Tears came to his eyes. Try as he might he couldn't hold them back. Throughout everything they had been through together, through all the hellish battles with COBRA, he had never seen her look this vulnerable. This afraid.   
"I'm so sorry, Alison...this is all my fault." He thought as he rocked her back and forth. "I left you behind...I wasn't..." He paused as he felt a soft touch on his face. She had brought her hand up and had wiped one of his tears away.   
"It's...not...your fault..." she whispered, looking up at him with her soft eyes for a moment before leaning into him and closing them again. His heart clenched...only she knew him well enough to be able to read him like that. Only she would comfort him when it was she who needed to be comforted.   
He kissed her gently on the forehead, forgetting himself for a moment, forgetting that they were no longer together.   
Suddenly, there was a large boom from above them. Then another. The cell shook and a red alert siren screamed from the area outside the cell. He felt Lady Jaye flinch. She was drifting in and out of consciousness. He had to get her to Lifeline.   
"Shhhh..." he whispered, gently picking her up as he stood to get his bearings. His shoulder was still tender but so intent was he on keeping her safe that he hardly noticed the pain. Another explosion shook the fortress.   
"It looks like Duke and Hawk have begun their assault."   
He shifted her carefully as he bent to pick up his gun. "I think it's time to go."   
************************************************************************


	8. Escape

"It doesn't hurt, Alison. Stop crying. " Her father stood over her as she lifted herself up off the ground. She had fallen off her bike and had skinned her elbow. "Remember what I told you, Lass, Burnett's never cry"   
  
She wiped away her tears and stood in front of the tall, muscular Scot, who to her five year old eyes looked like a giant. She adored her father. She worshipped the ground he walked on. She sensed, though, even at that young age, that he was disappointed. That he had wanted a son.   
  
She was determined to prove herself.   
  
"Virescit Vulnere Virtus."   
  
He laughed and picked her up into her arms. "Latin now, love? Amazing. You pick up languages faster than your mother spends my money!" He kissed her on the cheek and she beamed back at him.   
  
"Right, Lass. Courage Flourishes at a Wound. That's our clan motto. Strength in the face of adversity...remember it, live by it...it will serve you well." He turned and carried her towards the house. "Now, lets see to that cut. I bet you an ice cream would make it feel better..."   
  
The images blurred and shifted she fought through the fog in a desperate attempt to regain consciousness. She opened her eyes and breathed in sharply as pain assailed her body...the residual effects of Mindbenders pain stimulator. Her nerves were still firing at an incredibly increased rate. She was so cold, so tired. She was losing the battle to stay awake...her body was going into shock.   
  
Flint had stopped and was crouched in a corner, hiding from a Viper Unit that was making its way past in the corridor. He was alert, his gun cocked and ready in one hand, the other cradled protectively around her.   
  
She had to get hold of herself. She had to warn him...but of what? Her mind was in a jumble...past and present, dream and reality...all struggled for dominance. She couldn't focus.   
  
She leaned into him, finding some comfort in his warmth, his scent, his mere presence. His eyes grew distant...what was he saying? Who was he talking to? Why weren't his lips moving? Spirit? She slowly turned her head and froze. A large cat, some kind of Panther or Puma, was crouched silently by his side, its tail flicking back and forth as it observed the COBRA activity surrounding them.   
  
Flint didn't even notice it. The two were intent on the enemy, sitting tense, muscles taught, ready to spring. Ready to kill.   
  
Was it even real? Her mind must be playing tricks on her. She reached out slowly to touch the animal, fully expecting her hand to go right through it, for the image to dissipate like a desert mirage. The soft, warm fur took her by surprise, and she froze again as the cat turned and locked his eyes on her.   
  
The eyes...there was power behind them...wisdom...but there was something more. She couldn't put her finger on it, but there was something familiar about the way they felt.   
  
They considered her softly before the moment was broken and Flint turned to her, sensing that she was finally awake. His eyes passed over the cat as if it was not there.   
  
"You ok?" he looked at her, concern and worry lining his face.   
  
She nodded, not trusting her voice. Suddenly, her vision blurred and she felt herself falling. Flint's voice broke through the encroaching darkness.   
  
"JAYE! Stay with me, honey. We are almost out of here. Lifeline will be waiting...hang on a little longer. "   
  
"Not...going...anywhere..." she whispered, and felt Flint relax next to her.   
  
The cat stirred at the sound of her voice but Flint still failed to notice. She must be hallucinating. She felt herself drifting off. She longed for sleep, for peace. She longed to let go.   
  
Then she heard her late father's voice again, as clear as if he was standing next to her...   
  
"Strength in the face of adversity...lass...A Burnett does not give up so easily. You know what you have to do."   
  
Yes she did. She took a deep breath and pushed the pain down. Pushed the exhaustion away. She was a soldier, a Joe. She was stronger than this. She reached out and grabbed Flint by the arm.   
  
"Wait. We can't leave yet."   
  
He turned to her, confused. Then, ignoring her remark entirely went to gather her up.   
  
"There is an opening coming up. We are going to make a run for it, so get ready. I will try not to jar you too much..."   
  
"No!" she said as loud as she could, as loud as she dared, and pushed away. "Flint, we can't. We have to help the Joes outside..."   
  
"What are you talking about," he turned to her, his voice impatient...worried, "You are in no shape to do anything. I cannot risk...What are you doing?"   
  
He leaned in and grabbed her arm as she struggled to rise. The cat she had noticed before was nowhere to be seen. Good, her head was clearing. She was going to need her wits about her for the battle to come.   
  
"There is a weapon...something...Destro was talking...he..." her breath caught in her throat as she attempted to put weight on her bad leg. The pain was excruciating.   
  
Flint grabbed her arm as she lost her balance.   
  
"Jaye...slow down...you are going to end up..."   
  
"Fuel air explosives..." she forced the words out, and looked up to see Flint frozen beside her.   
  
"What?" he hissed.   
  
"They've got them...launch bays in the peaks of the mountains...mounted on long range missiles..." she steadied herself and pulled his side arm out of the holster at his hip. "They will use some on our friends and hold the world hostage with the remainder...we have to stop them."   
  
Flint's eyes grew distant as he leaned up against the wall, looking up at the ceiling. He closed his eyes.   
  
"Flint..." she looked at him warily, worried. He turned to her, his dark eyes piercing into her soul, and suddenly she realized what was familiar about the big cat in her earlier delusion. They were his eyes...the eyes she was looking at now. Completely open, vulnerable...full with love.   
  
"And I always thought I was the strong one," he took a deep breath and turned away, "You shame me."   
  
************************************************************************   
  
Fuel Air explosives.   
  
He could still catch the scent of burned flesh. He could still feel the heat, see the destruction, hear the screams of agony. His men, his friends...all killed in a flash of fire, a long agonizing demise.   
  
And now COBRA was going to use them again. On his remaining teammates. On the world. What was he going to do?   
  
He looked over to see Lady Jaye struggling to stay upright as she loaded the pistol she had taken from him. She knew the answer. She knew what had to be done. Even in her pain she was willing to risk her life to do the right thing. In her state right now she what she was about to try was suicide.   
  
"I would throw my life away to do my duty as well," he thought to himself as he watched her, "But if it means losing you..."   
  
He looked way and closed his eyes as the worst of the memories broke through the barrier set up in his mind. Mindbender's machine had thrown a lot at him, but this...this was the one that destroyed him.   
  
Destro held his gun up, aimed straight at her. She had nowhere to hide, nowhere to run. He was too far away. He couldn't reach her. He was unarmed.   
  
"Tell me what you know Flint, or this one dies"   
  
"Flint...help me!" she cried, his heart wrenched. No. No. This is just a dream. This isn't real. She is safe. This isn't real.   
  
Or was it? He was having trouble concentrating. He was weakening.   
  
"Let her go!" he growled and took a step forward.   
  
"Ah Ah Ah..." Destro tsked and lifted the rifle, firing. It blasted her in the shoulder and she fell.   
  
"JAYE!"   
  
"Tell me what you know or I will finish her off."   
  
Her eyes met his, pleading with him, tearing at his soul.   
  
"I..."   
  
He fired again and she screamed in agony as the bullet tore through her leg.   
  
"STOP! Stop...please..." he screamed, blubbering like a child. "Please...leave her be. I will tell you..."   
  
And so he did. Told Destro where he could find his teammates. Betrayed them all.   
  
And it was all for nothing.   
  
"Thank you, Flint. Destro laughed, "Who would have thought your heart would be your weakness. I admit I am disappointed...all this time I had begun to think you were invulnerable. I was beginning to hope that I could turn you to our side. What a spectacular COBRA officer you would have made. Pompous, self important, haughty...seemingly impervious to all we threw at you."   
  
He lifted his gun and fired.   
  
"NOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" he screamed and ran towards her, watching as the bullet exploded in her chest.   
  
He threw himself down beside her and took her in his arms. She was fading fast.   
  
"You should thank me, Flint. I have revealed to you your flaw. Your weakness. Maybe if you come out of this alive you will be a better soldier for it. Too bad your men will have to suffer for your love-lorn foolishness."   
  
He hardly heard him, he was too busy trying to stop the blood from pouring out of her body in a futile attempt to keep her alive.   
  
"Please...Alison...please don't leave me." He cried as he watched the light fade in her eyes. "I need you...I can't loss you. Hold on..."   
  
"Dash..." she whispered with her last breath...   
  
"No....Ali...wake up." He shook he as sobs wracked his body. "Please...I can't make it on my own. I love you. I am nothing without you...Ali...ALISON!!!!"   
  
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"   
  
"Flint..."   
  
Her quiet voice next to him brought him back to the present. Back to reality. He looked at her. God, he loved her. Even now, even after everything, after all he had done to escape it...he knew she still held his heart in her hands. He couldn't risk losing her. The pain. The loneliness. The despair. It was as though he had lived it despite even knowing it was a fabricated memory. The pain was so very real.   
  
And yet she was willing to risk all to do her duty. She was about to collapse but she was ready to fight, while he, the 'strong' one, the bad-ass Warrant Officer who had spent the better part of his days risking his life without a second thought was hesitating.   
  
He was afraid. He was afraid for her.   
  
"You shame me." He finally whispered and turned away before she could reply.   
  
"Spirit. Did you hear that?" he sent his thoughts out as the Shaman had taught him during his stay in New Mexico.   
  
There was a pause, and then his friend's voice sounded in his head. "Yes...I heard. I am on my way to warn the others but it will take some time. The jungle is thick with the enemy."   
  
"From the looks of things here, we can't afford the wait."   
  
"Then you must try to stop them. You will be on your own, though. I cannot help you while I am moving." Flint nodded. Spirit had been guiding him ever since he had escaped with Jaye from the cell, leading him through the corridors, using his * sight * to find the path of least resistance.   
  
What had he done to deserve such friendship. This man had saved his life, brought him out of the dark pit he had dug for himself and guided him patiently back out into the light. He had shared so much, taught him so much...Flint could never hope to repay him.   
  
"I am a healer. That is my calling. I see people in need and I must help them." Spirit had told him when he had asked. "And to tell you the truth, I see a bit of me in you. When I came back from 'Nam, physically, I was whole...but my soul was empty. That is when I found Freedom and my true path." He sighed, "So many of my fellow vets never had a chance and fell into despair. I was determined to help all those I could."   
  
And so Spirit had put him back on his true path. It took a year of introspection, meditation, and vision quests, but his totem animal appeared one day before the fire and spoke to his heart, to his soul.   
  
"Cougar...a powerful totem. The totem of a leader. I expected as much, as before you lost your way you were very much like one who walks the road with this great cat. I have the utmost confidence that with him at your side you will find your way home. The journey will be long and hard, but I sense that your heart will find peace at the end of the road."   
  
Flint brought up his gun and sighed.   
  
She looked up at him and smiled, her arm encircling his shoulder as she leaned on him for support. She knew he had made his choice.   
  
"God Ali. You can hardly walk..." She cut him off.   
  
"But I can still shoot. And I know where the control room is. Let's give these Snakes some fireworks that they will not soon forget. And I think you and I both want a piece of Destro."   
  
His eyes narrowed wickedly.   
  
"He's MINE...." He growled.   
  
************************************************************************   
  
It had taken everything she had to make it to this room, every ounce of her strength. She leaned into the console, its original operator lying dead on the floor beside her, a bullet through his skull.   
  
Flint stood behind her, guarding her back. He had killed four Vipers and a Crimson Guard single handedly, and she had to admit that she had been more of a hindrance than help. She had to concentrate on this at least. She had to destroy those missiles.   
  
She heard the alarm sound as soon as she hacked into the control computer. She had only a few moments before reinforcements arrived. She had to work fast. God, why couldn't she clear her head!   
  
"Any time now, Jaye!" Flint yelled impatiently from behind her.   
  
"Hold on..."   
  
The damn thing was encrypted...not well...but enough that it was going to take some effort to break through and unlock the self-destruct password. Computers were NOT her forte.   
  
She tried a little trick that Mainframe had shown her, and watched as it ran though all possible permutations and combinations. Bloody Hell, they were going to launch before this thing finished the loop!   
  
She turned as she heard Flint's gun go off, and saw that COBRA had finally responded to their presence. Crimson Guards were streaming in, and Flint was taking them down as fast as he could.   
  
She lifted the gun off the counter next to her and took aim, dropping a burly guard as the bullet smashed through his knee. She was beginning to weaken, her vision was blurring, and she knew that she wouldn't be able to hold on much longer.   
  
"What is the meaning of this!!!!" A familiar voice billowed in from the doorway.   
  
Destro.   
  
Flint turned and froze in rage as he turned to face his bitter enemy.   
  
"YOU!!!!" Destro screamed as he recognized immediately who it was that challenged him. Flint fired.   
  
The large arms dealer barely dodged the bullet in time, pulling out his own weapon and firing back as he dove for cover. Flint didn't even flinch.   
  
"Not so easy when you don't have me tied up, is it, Bastard!" Flint snarled as he fired repeatedly at the area where Destro lay. He stopped to reload.   
  
"So...Flint...it seems you have recovered from when last we met. A pity, really, I was hoping you would drink yourself into an early grave. After all...the blood of twelve lives on your hands..."   
  
"Shut your hole..." Flint lifted his weapon and showered his enemy with bullets.   
  
"Flint..." Jaye tried to yell over the clamor, but couldn't find the energy. There was something wrong. She was fading. She couldn't hold on. The numbers continued to flicker across the screen. She raised her handgun to help him but lost her balance and fell over.   
  
He turned as he saw her go down and stopped firing.   
  
Destro saw the opening.   
  
"Look out!!!!" she screamed with all the energy she could muster.   
  
The bullet grazed his shoulder. Too close. She looked up...the numbers were still flying across the screen.   
  
Suddenly she heard a deep laugh coming from Destro's direction.   
  
"You fool! Didn't you learn your lesson yet? Need I rid you of that parasite yet again."   
  
Flint's face went red with barely contained fury.   
  
"You will have to go through me first."   
  
"I don't need to do anything...she was dead the minute Mindbender started his work." She turned, fear rising in her gut, oh god...   
  
Flint's face fell.   
  
"That's right. That pain-inducing machine has some 'unpleasant' side effects, one of which is death from heart failure. Already she is weakening. Her body cannot handle the increased nerve activity, the constant pain. She is shutting down even as we speak."   
  
Darkness began to creep around the edges of her mind...the numbers on the screen were slowing...so close...must stay awake.   
  
"No..." it came out of Flint's mouth as barely a whisper, but she heard. She saw his face, saw him drop his guard.   
  
Destro, sensing the opportunity pulled out his wrist rocket. But this time he wasn't aiming for Flint. He was aiming straight at her.   
  
That was his mistake.   
  
"NOOO!" he screamed and suddenly, out of nowhere, a huge cat appeared and lunged, growling, at the arms dealer. Stunned, he barely stopped it from ripping out his throat. Flint raised his gun and fired at the now prone figure, hitting him square in the chest.   
  
As Destro fell, Lady Jaye saw heard the beep as the numbers locked and suddenly a red button rose out of the console where it had lay hidden under a panel. With her last bit of strength, she raised herself up off the ground and slammed it down.   
  
She fell to the ground as the building shook from the explosions high above.   
  
Then darkness.   
  
************************************************************************   
  
Scarlett and Spirit stood watching the lone figure ahead of them as he stood silently on the makeshift dock off base ANACONDA, watching the river flow past.   
  
"Should we..." Scarlett whispered.   
  
"No...leave him be." Spirit shook his head. "He had to learn this on his own, nothing you are going to say is going to make him change his mind."   
  
The shaman sighed.   
  
"Even after what had happened, you still do not understand, Brother." He thought to himself.   
  
Spirit had reached his teammates in time to see the peak of one of the Andean mountains go up in a huge pillar of fire and smoke. The Joes had been barely holding their position as they were vastly outnumbered, but the fireworks had turned the tide in their favor and they had defeated the enemy. Hawk was so impressed with Flint's performance that he was trying to woo the old soldier out of the CIA and back into the forces. So far the general had not received an answer, just told over and over that it was not him but Jaye that deserved the praise.   
  
They had spent the last week on clean up...finding and capturing any remaining soldiers scattered in the area, salvaging what they could from the wreckage of the base. Unfortunately, Cobra Commander and the other COBRA leaders had managed to escape.   
  
Flint had had an injured Destro in his clutches for a while, but let him go to save Lady Jaye, who he had barely gotten to Lifeline in time. The image of him walking out of the trees with her cradled in his arms was still with him. They had all thought she was dead.   
  
Had Lifeline not been ready she might very well have been. It had taken them all day to stabilize her so that she could be airlifted to a hospital.   
  
His friend, who had not left the woman's side for a moment while Lifeline tended to her, had stayed behind as the helicopter took off. Had let her go alone.   
  
"She is not mine. These months together does not erase the three years we have been apart. She has a life of her own. There is someone waiting for her. I will not interfere...all I will bring her is pain." He had said when Spirit had asked why he was not with her on the chopper.   
  
He had not spoken about it since.   
  
How could he be so blind? The power he had wielded when he saw that she was in danger was tremendous. Spirit had felt it explode onto this plane and had * seen * the cougar totem materialize. Had seen what it had done. The strength and concentration it took to accomplish what Flint had just done out of instinct was beyond comprehension. And yet the man still could not see the truth that lay right before his eyes.   
  
Scarlett's voice broke his train of thought.   
  
"He is too stubborn, Spirit. He needs to have some sense knocked into him. " She insisted.   
  
"I agree, Red, but it is not for us to do." I am finished here. I have done what I can. It is up to another now. 


	9. Going Home

Alison sat in her car at the entrance to Arlington for what seemed like an eternity. She had been here before to visit old friends lost during the struggle with COBRA, but even so she couldn't get used to the feelings of loss and sadness that confronted her as she passed through the gates.   
  
Maybe it is because she is...was...a soldier.   
  
It was a beautiful place...so quiet. A fitting resting place for those who fought and died in the service of their country. The tranquility and peace of the surroundings a welcome escape for those who need the solitude to sit with friends and family gone but not forgotten.   
  
The flag stands at half-mast, as it does for a little while every day in honor of those who lie here, and in the distance she can just make out the tomb of the unknown.   
  
She sighed and drove forward towards the parking lot. This visit was going to be one of the most difficult she had ever made.   
  
It had been a little over a month since Flint had dragged her out of COBRA's clutches and had her airlifted back to civilization. She had spent a bit of that time in a Montreal hospital recovering from both the ordeal and the knee surgery that she had required thanks to Ripper and her own carelessness. The doctors say the operation was a success, and that she will be as good as new as long as she follows her physiotherapist's advice and works with her regularly. So far so good. She still walks with a cane at the moment, but every day she can feel the joint growing stronger.   
  
She was alone now. Jordan had left soon after she was discharged from the hospital. He was off to Johns Hopkins to continue his studies. He didn't even ask if she wanted to join him in Baltimore. She had hurt him, she knew. They had known each other since they were very young, and as long as she can remember he had held a torch for her. Their year together had been fun and she had been happy. He had doted on her, and she had quietly returned his affection. He told her he loved her.   
  
But as he sat loyally by her side in the hospital as she lay weak and semi-conscious, it was not his name she cried out when the nightmares came, when the pain was unbearable.   
  
His words came to her in a flash of memory. They were sitting at a café on St Laurent. He was telling her he was leaving.   
  
"You were never mine to begin with, Ali-Cat. I thought I might be able to finally win you over but your heart lies elsewhere..."   
  
So now here she was a couple of weeks later. She knew where to find him. She knew exactly where he would be on this day. It was her only chance. He had disappeared soon after the operation with GIJOE and will probably disappear again if she missed him today, as he had done so many years ago. He had moved from Boston, and was no longer with the CIA. No one knew where to find him, or if they did they were not telling her. The one person who would have had dropped of the face of the earth. Rumor had it that Duke had joined the Secret Service, but no one knew for certain.   
  
Spirit merely smiled when she asked, saying that if he wanted to be found she would find him. She had flown all the way to New Mexico to see him, hoping to find Flint with him, and she had no patience for his enigmatic riddles.   
  
She was about to voice her frustration when she noticed the eagle staring at her from its perch behind him. She met its eyes and started in fear, they were so human...so wise...not at all the blank animal stare that she was expecting. She held the gaze and suddenly a wave of peace washed over her as she felt herself being lifted to another plane.   
  
She found herself in a deep misty forest. Just ahead of her a cougar sat staring at her, but she felt no fear for somehow she knew it meant her no harm. It was familiar to her, but she could not place where she had seen it before. She went to approach it but as she moved the big cat turned and ran off into the brush and out of sight. She sensed movement to her right and turned to find a deer coming out of the trees. She froze as it gracefully made its way towards her and lowered its head into her hand. Slowly, carefully, she placed her free hand on its head...   
  
Then it was gone, the forest was no more, and she was standing in front of the Shaman again.   
  
Oddly enough, she now knew exactly where to find Flint...and when.   
  
Spirit looked at her and nodded.   
  
"Deer. Carrier of Peace. I am not surprised she chose you." Lady Jaye shook her head to indicate she did not understand, not quite ready to speak after the experience with the magnificent animal.   
  
"As my totem is the Eagle, yours is the Deer. The ancients believed that a totem animal spirit would follow you all through life as a guardian, comforter and advisor. When you follow the guidance of your animal spirits, you may even share their qualities."   
  
"Deer gives you the power of gentleness, keen observation and sensitivity. Deer's are in tune with nature and all it holds. They are sacred carriers of peace and if you open your soul to her she will show you how to open your heart and love unconditionally."   
  
He smiled then. "Go to him now...you saw the Cougar...he calls for you..."   
  
She parked her car and locked it up. It would be better if she walked, she needed the fresh air to clear her head, and it would be good to give her knee some exercise after such a long car ride. The winters here in Washington were so much milder, it was almost tropical compared to Montreal and its -30 celsius average in January. She breathed in deeply and began her trek.   
  
It wasn't long before she saw him. He was standing in front of one of the cold, grey monuments, his head bowed.   
  
He comes here twice a year, she knew from what the vision had shown her. No matter where he was in the world he would make a point to be in Washington those days. He always came alone...   
  
He hadn't noticed her so she decided to stop and watch for a little while, mainly to gather her courage. She wasn't sure how he would react to her being here. This was an intensely private moment for him, and although she had seen signs of how he truly felt for her when she was with him in Peru, she was still unsure.   
  
He was wearing a dress uniform, a sign of respect for those he was visiting. He looked so handsome, his body perfect in the clean lines of the suit, his dark hair blowing gently in the breeze. His chest was lined with the numerous medals he had won for distinguished, honorable, and heroic service, his hat was held under his arm at his side.   
  
"Now or never," she thought to herself, and began moving towards him.   
  
He looked up as he sensed someone approaching from behind, probably expecting another mourner visiting one of the nearby sites. The surprise on his face was evident when he realized who it was.   
  
Their eyes met. She smiled softly and came up beside him. His eyes were so soft...so sad.   
  
"Hey..." she said, momentarily forgetting all the things she had planned to say to him. She had thought he would freeze up on her, be angry at the intrusion into his life, and had prepared herself for that eventuality. The quiet stare was not what she expected. It made her nervous. Was this the calm before the storm?   
  
"Hey," he answered and turned back to the stone. She looked at the name engraved upon it...David F Kunitz.   
  
Ozone.   
  
They stood in silence for a moment, unsure of what to say. Was he ignoring her? She watched as he bowed his head and turned away. Suddenly, the words came into her mind and out of her mouth in a whisper.   
  
"Flint. You don't need to do this alone anymore. I am here." She reached out slowly and took his hand. "I am here..."   
  
He didn't look up. Had he heard her? She looked away from him and at her feet. Sadness was beginning to creep in around the edges of her mind at the realization that he didn't want her when she felt him squeeze her hand tightly.   
  
She looked up to see him staring down at her, his eyes bright, watery with held back tears. He smiled as he brought his other hand up and cupped her cheek. His gentle touch sent waves of pleasure pulsing through her as her body remembered him...even after so long.   
  
"Jaye." His deep voice resonated in her ear...he paused, obviously searching for the words, and failing. Instead, he took her cane and offered her his arm for support, which she gladly took.   
  
"Come with me..."   
  
************************************************************************   
  
Flint walked the familiar path towards his final destination. He had walked this trail through the trees and crosses that marked the graves of soldiers, heroes, many times before. This was the first time he made the trip with someone else.   
  
His shock at seeing her had quickly been replaced by raw emotion. Here he was at his most vulnerable. Here he was most open to the demons that plagued him. The guilt and despair of losing his men, his friends over his own weakness.   
  
And there she was, standing right beside him.   
  
She looked so beautiful there in the bright winter sun...it took his breath away.   
  
Why was she here? He had left her so that she may continue to pursue her new life. He had left her so that she could move on and forget the things that had happened to her. To forget him. She deserved so much better than what he could offer. He was a broken man. He was not the same as she remembered.   
  
He had left because he didn't want to feel the pain of seeing her all the time knowing she was no longer his.   
  
He couldn't look at her.   
  
Then he heard her voice. Felt her hand in his. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. Even after everything he had done, after everything he had put her through. After all this time, she was still willing to stand at his side, to be there for him, to help him. She still loved him.   
  
Warmth flowed through his being. A pure, undiluted happiness he had not felt in so many years. He was at loss for words to say to her, how to tell her how much he wanted her here, how happy he was that she had come, how much he needed her. All he could do was squeeze her hand and say her name.   
  
When he looked into her soft green eyes, though...he knew she understood.   
  
They had reached their destination and he stood quietly and took a breath to steady his nerves. Memories came flooding back as they always did when he got to this point in the visit. Unconsciously, he reached out for her and felt her hand take his. The contact imbued him with strength. The demons were pushed away easily. His mind cleared.   
  
It took him by surprise, and then he remembered what the his spirit guide had told him on his vision quest, what Spirit had tried to explain....and at that moment he finally understood.   
  
"Sometimes your weakness can be your greatest strength..."   
  
She was his weakness. His love for her had broken him. But with her here, he felt strong again. Whole. They had always worked best as a team. He had always been a better soldier, better man, better human being when he was with her. She was part of him. She gave him strength.   
  
He turned to the grave and spoke.   
  
"Hi Sweeps. Been a while...but you know I wouldn't miss a visit."   
  
"Your son Daniel is doing well. I went to see him last week and he is growing into a strong, smart little boy. You would be proud of him." He bowed his head "I promise you, Dan, he will want for nothing. I have started a college fund, and will be there for him and Joyce whenever they need me. I will not let them down. I will not let you down."   
  
"I brought someone with me, Sweeps. You remember Lady Jaye? Remember how you always wondered how an ass like me managed to snag such a great woman. I wonder that myself sometimes."   
  
He looked at Jaye then, who was quietly standing at his side, a single tear flowing down her cheek.   
  
"I lost her for a while there. And along with her I lost part of myself. You were right, I am an ass. I just couldn't face her after...after what happened. I was too ashamed, too angry, too...well, messed up. I hurt her. I didn't mean to but I hurt her terribly. If she only knew how sorry I was."   
  
He brought his hand up to her face and brushed a stray hair out of her eyes.   
  
"But even after all this time, after everything. Here she is, by my side. I don't know what I did to deserve it, Sweeps, but I think she still loves me. Maybe as much as I love her..." He smiled softly as he saw her eyes sparkle at the words   
  
"Alison...I am not the man I used to be. You know as well as I do what happened in Borneo changed me. I want you to know that I never stopped loving you. I never stopped thinking of you. I...I hope you will find it in your heart to forgive me someday...and give me a chance to set things right..."   
  
"Dash...dear heart...there is nothing to forgive." He pulled her closer to him and gathered her into his arms. "I love you..."   
  
Hearing those words, he could no longer stop himself. He put his hand under her chin and tilted her head up as his lips descended to meet hers. The release of the kiss nearly caused his knees to buckle out from under him. He had to pull away...   
  
From the look on her face she had felt the same. He offered her his arm and she entwined her arm in his as he supported her on the way down the hill.   
  
"Where..." she whispered, "Where to now?"   
  
He paused. Although she meant their immediate destination, he could sense a deeper question being asked. Where are WE going now? He was not sure he knew the answer, but did it matter? As long as they were together he was content.   
  
For the first time in over three years he felt at peace. For the first time he could see the light at the end of the tunnel. His journey was coming to an end, and he no longer had to face the path alone.   
  
He looked at her and smiled. "Home...Ali...We are going home." 


End file.
